Transformers: Shattered Cybertron
by LordDootium
Summary: (Shattered Glass/ TFP) After fleeing an Autobot occupied Cybertron at the end of the war, the remaining Decepticons are scattered across the stars. In order to free their home world, it's gonna take more than a touch of luck for Megatron to reunite his fallen band of heroes.
1. Prologue: Evacuation

The fallen warrior stirred after a brief moment. 'What had happened?' he asked himself. He pressed himself up against the side of a crumbling defensive barrier, managing to stand himself up. Still dazed, he heard the distinct sound of null-ray guns and fusion cannons firing all around him.

Looking around, he saw destruction everywhere. In the sky, dozens of fliers were engaged in ferocious combat, some even exploding from the amount of ammunition that was being pelted into them. And sprawled out around him, bodies. Even with the crumbled structures of the Decepticon Capital city of Kaon scattered everywhere, there was nothing that could bury all the countless dead that were laid out before him.

His commlink beeping to life, piercing the thunderous soundscape of war around him.

"Lord Megatron, do you read me?" A deep, mechanical voice stated. He pulled out a device from his sub-space, a small holographic communicator that only the highest ranking of Decepticons were entrusted with. Holding it out in front of him, he activated it.

"I'm here, Shockwave. And I hope you have some good news." He said as the hologram of his single-optic science officer flickered to life before him.

"Indeed, sir. The last of the refugee ships have taken off. I do not have long before we are out of communication range."

Megatron grinned at this, knowing his plan to evacuate all non-combatants offworld had succeeded. "Excellent to hear," the gray mech said with a half chuckle as he spoke. "Then I wish you safe passage on your exodus to Velocitron. Thankfully, they are supporting of our cause."

"And what of you, and the other members of high command?" Shockwave continued in his monotonous voice. "One would assume that you have your own pre-selected point destination as well?" "Yes, we do. And now that you mention it…" he trailed off, watching as three Seekers started flying low towards him. Transforming a few meters away, he saw that it was Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp, the commanders of his air forces. "...I believe it is time for us to be on our way." Megatron finished, saluting at the hologram. "Until we meet again, Shockwave."

"Affirmative, for my estimations indicate that we shall." Shockwave returned a half-hearted salute, and dropped his end of the transmission.

Megatron placed the device back into his subspace, and turned back to the Seeker Trine before him.

"Well, you certainly took your time with that." Starscream quipped as the Decepticon leader stepped towards them. "The Autobot forces are nearly at the warship." His tone more serious now. "But you will be happy to know that we got everybody on board the _Nemesis_, boss!" Skywarp boomed from behind. Thundercracker facepalmed at the outburst of his brother, "Not while him and 'Scream are talkin', Warpy." Starscream turned back, scowling at them. The two suddenly stood up straight, mouths shut.

Megatron however smiled, "Do not worry, Starscream. We will be aboard our new home soon enough." He turned, pressing against the area near his audials. "Soundwave, we require a ground bridge at our coordinates."

No reply, just as usual. But soon enough, a familiar whirling could be heard, and a few meters away, the portal opened. They all walked through, as the gateway closing behind them.

* * *

The flightdeck was in utter shambles. It seemed as if for every Vehicon taking off, two more came back, too injured to fight any longer. The booms of artillery fire came from the large guns that had been placed on the flightdeck, trying to shoot down any Autobot fliers or ships within range. When the four Decepticons emerged from the groundbridge, they were taken aback by the intensity of the carnage that surrounded their warship.

All around them, soldiers were engaging the oncoming Autobot forces, holding off the enemy for as long as they can. In the distance, Devastator was wielding an Autobot ship, swatting away any and all who dared to oppose the mighty combiner. On the deck, the Stunticons were hauling crates of ammunition to the makeshift gun emplacements, with Breakdown helping Knockout get the injured inside to the medbay.

Megatron looked to his second in command, "Starscream, how long can you hold them off for?"

The Vosian prince turned back to his leader, "For as long as there are Autobots to battle against, sir." Starscream began his run down the flightdeck, activating his comms. "This is Air Commander Starscream, all available fliers, on me!" he called out, as he transformed and took flight into the smoke filled sky, towards the Autobot fleet. After a few moments, the remainder of his armada was at his side. Thundercracker, Skywarp, Dirge, and the few remaining Eradicons flew towards the approaching Autobot fleet coming from the North. Not having the time for drawn-out speeches, he uttered a simple sentence of encouragement.

"Send them back to the Pit."

* * *

Megatron had finally reached the bridge of the _Nemesis_, the place the Decepticon leader was needed the most. All around the vast room, Vehicons and bots worked away, preparing the shit for take-off. As Megatron reached the front of the bridge, a dark blue Vehicon with white markings walked up besides him. This was St-3V3. Or, as Shockwave's designation theme went, 'Standard (grounder), 3rd built of Vos' 3rd batch.' His paint scheme indicating his individuality. All Vehicons were sentient of course, each light purple soldier having their own tells and markings, but St-3v3 had proven to be the most courageous of them all, earning him the rank of Vehicon Commander. "Welcome back, sir. We were starting to get worried." he said.

"You need not fear for my well being, St-3. Merely a rescue mission of the last of Kaon's surviving forces." Turning to Soundwave next, he asked. "How soon until we are ready for takeoff?"

The communications officer, still typing away on his terminal, half-turned to Megatron.

"Immediately," came the synthesized sounding voice of the tall.

"Very well then. Open up communications to all Decepticons."

Soundwave's digits tapped away at his terminal, turning to nod at his commander when the line was open.

"Attention all Decepticons. Return to the _Nemesis_, we are getting out of here."

* * *

All ground forces had returned to the warship, and soon after, the _Nemesis_ began takeoff. It was a few minutes before the ship's engines were at full power, and they were on their way into space.

Megatron stood outside the hangar on the flightdeck, waiting for Starscream and his armada to return. Looking out over the ruined planet they had called home, it saddened him knowing that it was unlikely for them to ever return.

Suddenly, his comms crackled to life, the sound of the Decepticon SIC on the other end.

"Lord Megatron, we are a few minutes out. However, there is bad news…"

"What is the problem, Starscream? Have we lost any more troops?" The gray mech's voice giving away how on edge he was.

"No sir, worse. Much, much worse. The Autobots are giving chase." The seeker's voice began to quiver, "It.. It's the _Ark_, sir. Optimus Prime is onboard."

A few moments passed, and the last of the Decepticon air forces returned. Worse for ware, but alive. But as the _Nemesis_ began to pick up speed, exiting the smoke and chemical filled atmosphere of Cybertron. From up here, their world seemed so small. However, the view was soon obstructed, as a large rust-red and yellow warship pierced the skies in pursuit of the Decepticons. The _Ark_ was upon them.

Stepping back in shock, the Decepticons looked up at the capital ship of the Autobot fleet.

Activating his comms, he called out. "Decepticons, battle stations! We have been followed."

With the order sent, the ship's defences came to life, turrets and missile pods appearing out of the ship, opening fire upon the Autobot vessel, the exchange of laserfire illuminating both ships.

Megatron and the fliers also began to return fire, attempting to shoot down the rockets coming towards the warship.

After what seemed like hours, Megatron's commlink came back online. "Spacebridge: Online. Escape: Imminent." Soundwave said. "Excellent news, Soundwave." Megatron replied.

"Sir, look!" Dirge shouted as be pointed up to the _Ark_. Dropping from the ship was a dark purple and blue mech, and he was coming in fast. Wings as black as space spread out behind him, with a thruster guiding him down, landing on the flightdeck of the _Nemesis_.

"Megatron!" shouted Optimus Prime, the Autobot warlord. His dark, menacing red optics met the bright cobalt blue ones of Megatron. "Face me, coward! Or would you have me tear this ship apart myself?" Optimus began striding closer, Megatron did the same. Suddenly, the two broke out into a sprint. Megatron's blade came down from under his fusion cannon, as Optimus reached for the Star Saber mounted on his back. The two large mechs finally met in the middle of the flightdeck, blades clashing against one another.

Sparks flew as they both went back and forth with each other, as if they had entered into that of a ritual dance. Optimus lunging, Megatron dodging, the upper hand switching more times than could be counted. Having made criss-crossed most of the deck, now having made their way to the very edge, with Megatron on the receiving end of Optimus' fury. "What was that little saying you came up with again? 'One shall stand, and one shall fall' I believe. And now it seems we know who is who." He raised his sword over the Decepticon commander, ready to deliver the final blow. "It does not have to be this way, Orion." Megatron said, trying to appeal to the mech he once called brother. Optimus' eyes lit up in rage, moving himself closer to his enemy, he retracted his battle mask. His face scarred from millenia of battle. "Never call me that again."

Finally, his guard was down. Megatron acted fast, pouning his first into the abdomen of the Prime. Taken aback, his mask came back up. He tried to regain his composure, but it was too late. Megatron had now gotten around him, and was now the one distributing a great fury of blows, sending Optimus flying back. The Star Saber hit the ground, teetering on the edge of the deck. Megatron slammed his foot down, shaking the ground just enough to send the ancient weapon off the edge. Optimus reached out, but it was a doomed effort. His greatest source of power drifted out to space as the _Nemesis_ reached the Space Bridge.

He leaped for it, trying to activate his jetpack, having not noticing it was damaged in battle. He reached back, grabbing hold to the edge of the ship. "Megatron… I yield! Have Mercy!" He pleaded, his false sincerity oozing from his tone. "You have had your chance, Optimus Prime." Megatron raised his blade, and slashed down, cutting right through the elbow of his opponent. Optimus' face filled with shock, as he fell down into the thrusters of the warship, and began drifting away.

Megatron watched on for but a few moments. He was pulled out of the trance of battle by the loud gunfire of the two warships, still locked in combat. He ran back to the hangar, opening up a weapons locker. "Skywarp, I require your assistance." he called out. The black and purple seeker ran over. Megatron handed him a large, strange looking device. "I need you to warp these down to the Space Bridge power supply. The timer is already set, but we haven't much time."

"Yes sir!" he said, as he disappeared in a cloud of light. "The rest of you, back inside. Quickly!"

They rushed inside, just as a powerful blast hit the _Nemesis_. The warship rocked to one side, some of the engines having been taken out. They reached the bridge just as Skywarp appeared besides them once again.

"That's everyone. Take us through." Megatron said. The warship sped up, moving through the massive portal.

"H-hey Screamer… I'm not f-feeling to hot right now…" Skywarp stammered before he collapsed, energon leaking from many small holes in his frame.

"Dear Primus" The air commander yelped, picking up his injured brother. "Knockout, get the medbay ready for another patient. Stat!" Thundercracker shouted over the comms as the three brothers rushed out of the bridge.

The warship shook again, another engine blowout most likely.

"Sir, we can't travel far like this. We have to land, and soon." St-3v3 said.

"I do not think we should be too concerned, for it seems we have reached our destination." Megatron said, pointing out the windows of the bridge, towards the blue and green planet below them. "Bring us down somewhere remote. And brace for a rough landing!" He said to the bridge crew. Slowly and discreetly, they descended towards the world know as Earth.


	2. Chapter 1: Arrival to Earth

**Hey guys, new chapter time! I am still new to this, so reviews are always appreciated.**

Knockout slowly rose from the floor, having fallen flat on his aft during the _Nemesis'_ landing. The sky blue cosmetic surgeon turned medic pushed himself up, the almost rhythmic blaring of the warship's emergency alarms filling his thoughts, and only worsening an already bad headache. Looking to his left, he saw Breakdown, leaning against the wall next to the door of the medbay. "Morning." He said jokingly, the big orange mech smiling up at his conjunx endura. To his right, he was met with the energon-covered body of Skywarp. "Oh, right." he said out loud, not worrying about being judged for the lapse in his thoughts of his current patients. Their ship had just crashed on some backwater rock after all. He collected himself, standing back up on his own two pedes. Looking back down at his patient, he made sure his welds from earlier were holding.

The seemingly unphased medic made his way over to a set of storage compartments, wondering just how hard they went down. 'Enough to send most of them off to dreamland it seems,' he thought to himself, looking at all the troops that were currently under his care. Opening up the cabinets, he pulled out a clean rag. He turned around, seeing Breakdown standing over Skywarp's unconscious frame. "Any idea how long he's gonna be out for, Knock?" Knockout walked back to the examination table, starting to wipe away the residual energon from the fallen seeker. "Well, given his current condition? Who knows. The last time I had to make this many welds, it was just to make the patient more respectable before burial."

Breakdown meandered around the medbay, making sure all who were injured were still stable, and helping whoever hadn't been knocked out cold. He was now starting to realise just how much of a mess the place was. Cabinets had flown open, leaving medical supplies strewn about the place. Vital equipment like Sparkrate Monitors and Emergency Energon Infusors lay broken on the floor. Thankfully, it seemed that the stasis pods containing the more severely damaged Decepticons were still intact. He made especially sure to check on three stasis pods in particular, where inside lay vaguely flier-like frames, their features barely distinguishable.

Breakdown made his way back into the main room of the medbay, where he saw a very scratched and dented Starscream and Thundercracker, standing besides their comatose brother.

*CRASH*

The huddled group of 'cons turned to where the sound came from, figuring it was coming from beyond the door to the rest of the ship."What in the-"

*THUD*

This time, the door itself started to dent a little. Occasionally, they would hear a crash and the clanging of metal on the other side.

"Breakdown, ya in there?" came a gravelly voice booming through the door.

"Yeah Motormaster, im here." the assistant medic yelled back. "What's going on out there? It sounds like you're tearing the ship apart!"

"We are, kinda. When we crashed, we hit some pretty rocky terrain, tore up most of the bottom decks. The whole ship was shaking so hard, some of the beams came loose and got ya trapped in there."

Knockout rolled his optics. "Great, not only are we practically out of medical supplies, we're stuck in here." Suddenly, a thought came to him. "Oh scrap!" he yelled, running off towards the other room where the stasis pods were stored. Breakdown, knowing what he was getting at, nonchalantly strode up behind him. "Already checked up on our special patients, Knock. We've already lost so many, we aint about to lose these three."

"Sorry, lose who, exactly?" Starscream interrupted, as he and Thundercracker entered the room. "Yeah, shouldn't this be something we should know? Isn't secrets amongst fellow officers an Autobot trait or something?" inquired Thundercracker, peering into the cloudy liquid that held the so-called 'special patients'. Knockout looked uneasily at Breakdown, who simply shrugged. "Well, so long as Megatron doesn't reprimand us…" Knockout said. "Alright, fine. Just… brace yourselves, ok?" he stepped up, typing in something on each of the stasis pods' terminals. The blurriness of them began to dissipate, revealing three different yet familiar 'cons. Slipstream, Lugnut, and Blitzwing.

"What… h-how? They were lost back on Cybertron!" Starscream cried, throwing whatever composure he had left out of the airlock. "They quarantined themselves when they contracted a case of cosmic rust!"

"And a particularly bad string of it at that. I thought they went offline ages ago?" Thundercracker pondered aloud in a puzzled tone of voice, yet managing to remain much more calm than his brother. "So, how did you even manage find them?" he continued, looking back over towards Knockout. "Surely they would have concealed their spark signature to keep away from the Autobots."

"Believe it or not, big strong and stupid here's blind loyalty to Megatron is what led us right to them. He left some long-winded video log about why and how the three contracted the disease, and the location of what he assumed was to become his place of eternal rest." Knockout said with a sense of spite in his words. "The fools didn't want to end up being a burden on us, but even still, it's not like we were running too low on supplies for them to be treated at the time."

Thundercracker looked back at the three stasis-locked warriors, taking in what he could only assume to be rebuilt bodies. "Rust ate away their frames, right? That's why they look so… different." "Well, I don't mean to brag or anything, but I was one of the finest cosmetics experts back on Velocitron. Fixing them was difficult, yes, but nothing I couldn't handle." Knockout said, a smug look of pride across his face.

In the other room at this point, all of the troops present had come back online. Breakdown fetching the occasional thing for Knockout when anyone was particularly beat up. It was in this period that it was a sudden shock when the ship's alarms went silent. Replaced by a crackle of static, the intercoms of the ship came to life, broadcasting Megatron's voice. "Attention all Decepticons, as you have probably already deduced, we have crashed. I am ordering all available personnel to fan out, and help free anyone caught in the wreckage. Luckily it seems that no major part of the ship has broken off. However, due to the severity of the Autobots' surprise attack on us, we are grounded on this planet, known as 'Earth', for the foreseeable future. Megatron out."

* * *

Megatron slumped back down into his command chair in the centre of the bridge, letting out a heavy vent, as if trying to release the pressure of the past few hours. Had it not been so early in what would have been a Cybertronian day, he would have graciously poured a round of high-grade for everyone, or something to take the edge off. 'We did all that we could have,' he thought to himself. 'At least, what we could without stooping to the Autobots' level.' He opened up his optics again, looking up at the large screen in the front of the bridge, showing nothing but static. "Soundwave, do we have a visual of our surroundings?" "Imagery: Negative. Exterior camera status: Offline." the tall mech replied, not even turning away from his terminal to answer. Behind him, Megatron head the sound of footsteps, and small ones at that. Turning to look over his chair, he saw Rumble and Frenzy lifting up some of the floor paneling, getting at the central wiring and circuitry of the bridge.

The two cassetticons, as if knowing of Megatron's presence, turned and saw their leader looking down at them. "Oh, hey boss. Don't mind us, just seeing if we can't get some more of the ship's functions back online." Rumble said as he set down a panel, and descended under the bridge. "He he, yeah, I'm sure we can fix somthin' down there that would help. Don't worry about a thing!" Frenzy shouted out, as he jumped down to follow after his twin. Megatron glanced towards Soundwave, an optic ridge raised in speculation. "Are you certain that they know what they are doing?" he inquired to the communications officer of few words. This time, Soundwave did turn to respond to his leader. "Affirmative. Frenzy and Rumble: minimizing damage."

Megatron simply nodded, turning his attention back to the small monitor attached to his chair. He punched in a few commands, and over the next hour or so started contacting various divisions around the ship.

…

"Well, its bad, but I don't see the energon reactors melting down anytime soon!" Scrapper's voice shouted over the comms, trying to get over the loud whirring of the engine room of the warship. A loud *CRASH* went off in the background, and as the whirring stopped, so did everything else, as the power went out. Megatron was trying so desperately not to shout out his frustrations, however he was glad that nobody could see his exasperated expression in the now pitch-blackness of the bridge. After a few minutes of waiting around, the lights and terminals of the ship came back to life, along with the comms line that Megatron and the leader of the Constructicons were on. "Real sorry about that one, sir. But somebody had the bright idea to go and shut the whole slagging thing off." A clanging could be heard, as Scrapper threw a pipe in the direction of somebody. "Hey, watch that!" Mixmaster cried out in the distance. "I can't fix the Pit-forsaken thing if its active. I might have a few screws loose, but I ain't crazy enough to risk damage by working on a giant reactor when its online!"

…

"Ah, lord Megatron, it is so good to hear you again!" Starscream exclaimed, as if it had been millenia since they had last talked. "I can assure you that… most things are fine at the moment…" the air commander trailed off. Megatron could tell his mind was elsewhere, and he had a decent enough guess as to what. "And, Skywarp… is he going to make it?" "Yes, he… he'll recover, in time. He's conscious, thank Primus, but in a lot of pain. Knockout says he was wounded pretty badly though, shot right through his warp core." 'Right next to his T-Cog… the poor mech.' Megatron thought to himself. "He won't be able to transform for months, and Knockout is uncertain as to whether he will ever be able to warp again." After a long pause, Megatron said, "I'm so sorry… I should have never sent him down there to begin with." Suddenly, a new voice was heard somewhere behind Starscream.

"Ah, come on now, boss. Surely I'd be the bigger fool for agreeing in that glitched plan of yours?" Skywarp's weak voice chuckled. Megatron let out a vent of relief, glad to hear the seeker was energetic as always. Starscream leaned in, trying to not be overheard. "When were you going to tell me about our, 'special patients' Knockout brought along?" his tone now much more annoyed. "Ah… you found out about them." Megatron said after a pause. "I would have told you sooner, however we had only just discovered them before taking off. And that one only hindered further by the Autobots' attempts to ground the Nemesis." "Yes… of course. My apologies, Megatron."

...

"No sir, nothing unusual to report so far." came St-3's voice, trying to be as calm in a crisis as any bot could be. "A couple bad dings on most of the crew, some floors are without power still, but nothing that can't be fixed. But like you said to us all earlier, I don't see us being able to get airborne anytime soon," his voice a little more solem, drawing out the last few words. "And what of you? How are you holding up?" Megatron asked, in a more gentle tone than what he usually commanded with. It felt like ages before the response came through. "I'm worried, sir. About us, about all who fled Cybertron, and about the population of this world, too." "However do you mean?" Megatron inquired. "Well sir," St-3 continued, "We may have escaped the Autobot's wrath for now, but what about when they come looking for us? You saw the scanners same as we all did, sir. The natives are nowhere near as advanced as Cybertronians. Whoever already inhabits this world, they might be in danger because of us, and they wouldn't stand a chance against an invasion." Megatron collected his thoughts for a moment, then said, "We will do what we can in order to prevent any other worlds from falling to the Autobots. We may have lost our home, but I refuse to let another species' world come to ruin."

He would have went on, about how he had plans to meet with some sort of native authority to sort things out. However, his attention was diverted when Dirge commed in. "Yes, Dirge? What's going on?"

…

"Uh, well sir." The bright yellow and gray conehead stammered. "It seems that the locals have found us." he finished as, from sitting up on top of the flightdeck hangar, we watched as aircraft jetted on by, and various ground vehicles were driving up to the ship.

* * *

It was the Decepticon command, that being Megatron, Starscream, and St-3v3, along with some vehicon troops that would be conducting the official introductions. Soundwave was to stay onboard, patching into Laserbeak's live video feed to observe as well. As the ramp on the side of the _Nemesis_ lowered down, bright sunlight flooded into the usually darkened ship. Slowly, they walked down the ramp and into the view of the many natives that surrounded them. "Well, they sure have some nice alt-modes." St-3 commented, looking at all the varieties of vehicles that have encircled their ship. However, as if on cue from saying that, the doors of each armored vehicle flew open, as many small, organic bipedal creatures swarmed out, weapons trained on the much bigger Decepticons. "Care to take that one back?" Starscream muttered to St-3.

One of the small creatures, in a dark greenish-black combat uniform, held up some sort of vocal amplifier, and soon shouted, "Throw down your weapons, and put your hands up! I won't ask again!" Most of the Decepticons were taken aback, as yielding one's armaments implied a military surrender. Megatron however, complied. He reached across to his right arm, and tossed his fusion cannon on the ground a few yards away, and proceeded to raise his hands over his head. "We do not wish to cause trouble, or bring anyone harm. For we are merely seeking refuge." All of the much smaller creatures stared up at Megatron in confusion, as if not understanding him.

"Oh, right…" the Decepticon commander said in an embarrassed tone. Soon enough, Soundwave had patched them in on what this native language, known as 'English' was. "Sorry about that, can you understand me now?" Megatron said, the new language feeling weird coming from him. "Yes yes, loud and clear, alien." The 'human' in command said in an annoyed tone. "As I was saying," Megatron continued. "I am Megatron of Tarn, leader of the Decepticons. Our faction has been exiled from our homeworld, Cybertron, after four million years of destructive civil war. We only wish to live peacefully here, as we are but refuges lost to the stars." Only Laserbeak had picked up the small creature say something along the lines of 'likely story' under his breath.

Just then, the sound of engines could be heard in the distance, along with a helicopter flying low overhead. The helicopter landed, alongside a white with blue and green coloring motorcycle, and some sort of law enforcement cruiser. From the helicopter stepped out another human, this one not in military uniform and of a darker body tone. "Damnit Bishop, stand down." The human shouted angrily at this 'Bishop'. He turned to the new arrival. "Ah, agent Fowler. What took you so long?" "Don't be a smart ass, 'Silas', or whatever your new codename is this time. I know your not a fan of the 'Cons, but our intel shows that they are the good guys." He walked past Silas, and pushed past the barrier that had been hastily set up by the soldiers.

As he got closer, he started to speak directly to the Decepticons. "Sorry about that, my colleague isn't that big a fan of Cybertronians. I am special agent William Fowler, of the United States military, and I can only assume you would be Megatron?"

"Yes, that is correct." Megatron said, confused as to how this 'Fowler' knew about them. He knelt down, getting closer to the human. "What I do not understand is how you obtained this knowledge of us?" Agent Fowler grinned at the question, and turned and pointed to the Helicopter and the two vehicles that came with it.

On cue, the three began to shift, transforming into their bipedal forms. "Really, Megatron? I would have thought you would remember your scouting party. It's only been, what, 40 years? 50, tops." Barricade quipped at his commander. The helicopter, Blackout, looming tall over him, stood rigid and saluted. "It is an honor to see you again, Lord Megatron." he deep voice boomed. The motorcycle had shifted into the ever familiar Airachnid, her extra legs held against her back. "Good to see you as always." she said politely.

Megatron could not hold back a smile, as he looked upon those who he had sent to Earth not too long ago to make first contact. "It is good to see that you all are well. However, we must get all official business done with before we can catch up," said Megatron. He looked down to agent Fowler, asking, "Tell me, is there anywhere that we could discuss the situation further? Our ship is not currently suitable for such things."

"Yes, of course. We constructed a military base around the wreck of your old ship, the Harbinger."

"Wreck, you say?" Megatron inquired, as himself and the rest of the Decepticons transformed, following the humans to their base.


	3. Chapter 2: A new Quest

**Hey there, back with a new chapter. This time, we get caught up on how events are going back on Cybertron. As always, feedback is appreciated.**

* * *

**Cybertron: One week after the Decepticon Exodus**

Far away from the burned and scarred landscapes of where the past four million years of warfare had taken place, the Cybertronian capital of Iacon remains the most intact city on the planet. Many attempted sieges and surprise attacks by the Decepticons have been thwarted due to the large defensive walls and fortresses that surround the city. Along with the Autobot constructed defenses, a large area has been taken up by the once again dormant Metroplex, lying in wait for the day he is called upon once more. And across the whole of these outer defences, countless guard stood watch, in the event of a possible Decepticon assault.

In the streets of the inner city however, there was celebration taking place. All across the city, the hordes of unruly Autobots were getting themselves absolutely hammered on whatever drink they could find in celebration of what was the deemed to be their victory over the Decepticons. Many bars and social houses had been open all through the nights in order to accommodate the countless numbers of Autobot soldiers who had returned to their capital.

In the centre of the city, in a large open park complex that was bordered by both the Grand Imperium, where the corrupt old senate once ruled, and the Iacon Hall of Records, there was an assembled crowd of 'bots that were the most violent of all. In order to keep morale high, the Autobot general Ironhide, a large black and dark green warrior, had ordered for some of the Decepticon prisoners of war be dragged into the square, as to 'make an example' out of them.

Ironhide laughed loudly, as he threw the poor 'con that had just received his beating back to the guards, dragging them away.

"Alright then, who's got it comin' to them next?" he cried out over the loud cheering of his soldiers, his red eyes aflame with elation. It took a while, but soon enough a pair of Elite Guards had dragged the next Decepticon up onto the large platform that Ironhide had set up, so that the crowds my see clearer.

As they were brought up on the platform, the crowds now gazed upon the green and orange seeker that stood before them all. One of the Elite Guards, a junior officer as shown by his markings, hit the 'con with the but of his rifle, knocking them to the ground.

"If I didn't know any better Smoky, I'd say you were havin' just as much fun as I am." Ironhide said, laughing at the seeker who barely held themselves up on their hands and knees.

"Well, what can I say?" Smokescreen said with a chuckle, "I learned from some of the best 'bots around."

Without warning, Ironhide reached down, and lifted the seeker by his shoulders, and presented him to the crowds of gathered Autobots.

"Allow me ta' introduce our next piece of entertainment, Acid Storm!" he yelled out. A collection of applause and booing came from the crowd, who were clearly glad this particular 'con was getting their serving of 'justice'.

"He here is the last of the Decepti-creep's 'rainmakers', and has melted countless thousands of 'bots, and probably even some of you!" Ironhide continued jokingly, earning him some laughter.

"And we have a special game for him to play. What do ya' say to that, 'con?"

Acid Storm slowly turned his head up to look at Ironhide. "Get scrapped." he said, spitting some drops of energon into Ironhide's face.

"Yeah, I thought so," Ironhide said, looking back to the crowd. "The rules are simple. We've strapped a tracking device to Acid's frame. He has to evade us, flying I might add, for one hour, if he wants to live that is. In a dingy cell, yeah, but still, you'll live. Get shot down and can still walk away? We try again tomorrow. Try and fly out of the city? You're dead for sure." Ironhide paused for a second, surveying the crowd. "And any 'bot that does shoot him down, gets double rations for the next month!" This got the crowd fired up again, energon-lust visible in their optics.

Ironhide grabbed Acid Storm's wrists, and unlocked his stasis-cuffs. He stood back, waiting for their captured seeker to take flight. "Well, go on then. Fly!" He shouted angrily at Acid Storm. The gathered masses of semi-drunken troops had already gotten their weapons readied, and were waiting for the right time to fire.

"I said FLY, scrap for brains!" Ironhide yelled, firing a round into Acid Storm's foot.

The green seeker jumped at the pain, screaming his vocals out. Looking down, he could see right through his foot. "Get fragged, Autobot!" He said spitefully, as he transformed, and quickly jetted off into the city.

If the tracker they had planted on him didn't give him away enough, it flashed a bright red light every couple of seconds, giving him away to anyone who saw. By now, hundreds of Autobots had caught word of Ironhide's sadistic attempt at bloodsport, and had taken to the skies and streets of Iacon to chase down their prey.

Bobbing and weaving between the large opulent towers of the Cybertronian capital, Acid Storm flew faster than he had ever thought he could have gone. Diving down, he flew low over the main city streets. Autobots all around him opened fire, blasting either streetlights, other 'bots, or just missing entirely and hitting the surrounding buildings. He pulled up, retaking his place high in the skyline of the sprawling metropolis. However, he had company soon enough. Out of nowhere, the Aerialbots had formed up behind him, and they were getting in close.

"Go on, get after that 'Con!" Silverbolt yelled at his squadron. "The last thing we need is to lose a chance at free high-grade."

"Copy that, chief." Air Raid said, as himself and Skydive got in close on both sides of Acid Storm, who had once again descended lower in the skyline, taking cover amongst the many buildings. Once the two pursuing Aerialbots got close enough, Acid Storm opened up the chemical compartments in his wings, spraying Air Raid and Skydive with acid, forcing them down to land.

"Fine then, I'll teach this Decepticon a lesson myself." Silverbolt said, as he broke formation, and jetted off after his prey. However, the two seekers would not be keep up this dance of predator and prey for much longer. As Acid Storm made a sharp turn, heading back out over the central plaza where he had first taken off from, Silverbolt let loose his missiles, no longer worrying about damaging any buildings. Acid Storm dived out of the way of the first missile, as it flew off aimlessly before detonating over the square. The second missile was what did him in. Before he knew it, it had struck his thrusters with a loud rumbling explosion. Acid Storm lost control, as he slammed against the side of the Grand Imperium, scraping away at it's exterior walls, before he brought himself down.

"Ah scrap," Ironhide said, as he ran to the crash site. "The boss bot aint gonna be too happy about this."

* * *

After the execution of the old senate, the Grand Imperium had been converted into what some refer to as the Palace of the Prime. Within the central chamber, where senators and functionist councilmembers once plotted against the Cybertronian peoples, lies the throne room of Optimus Prime. In the place where the head senator once sat, a large, golden throne had been built, and draping down behind it, a large white banner with the dark purple Autobot symbol. On the floor, an ornate fresco of the Matrix of Leadership had been painted, and hanging all over the walls are ornate tapestries, showing fierce battles and mighty warriors.

From his throne, Optimus Prime had been enjoying some light reading, on what he considered to be a nice day. That was true, however, until he heard a loud explosion, and then a crash, somewhere outside of his palace. The large purple and blue warlord arose from his seat to find what had happened. After some time of wandering the many hallways, he had found his way up into a watchtower, where two guards where surveying the central plaza. The two guards didn't notice at first, but when the Autobot Commander's loud footsteps were right behind them, they could not mistake them for any other bot.

"L-lord Optimus," One of the guards stammered. "What, may I ask, brings you here?"

"Perhaps you wish for the exquisite view your palace offers, my lord?" said the second guard, in a much less nervous tone.

"Such is the downside of my throne room, no windows to gaze upon my empire. However, I am here to inquire as to what that explosion was?" Optimus' words were filled with concern, but maintained the frightening direness that made you worry that you had committed a capital crime.

The first guard, her hand shaking as she pointed to the amassed crowds in the middle of the plaza. "It's General Ironhide, sir. He's letting the troops have a little b-bit of 'fun' with the Decepticon prisoners."

Optimus focused on the crowd, seeing his war-hardened general parrading some damaged seeker around. The metal railing bent and buckled in his hands, out of anger that he knew stopping Ironhide would only show weakness within himself.

"Always the brutal one," Optimus said with a sigh. "But this time, at least it's the prisoners he's beating down." And with that, he turned and left, the implication of his words hanging heavy with the two guards.

As Optimus was walking back to his throne room, his right arm began to act up, seizing in place. His replacement arm that Ratched had built for him was identical to his old one, however it had yet to be painted to match his color scheme. Filled with rage at this minor annoyance, he clenched his left hand into a fist, and threw it towards one if the walls. He stopped, mere inches away from impact. He took in some deep vents for a few moments, and continued his walk back to his throne.

When he arrived, there was a bot standing in the middle of the chamber, typing away on a datapad. The orange and black mech stood unwavering, medical symbols clear upon his shoulders.

"Ah, there you are Optimus." Ratchet said, glancing up from his datapad to greet him. "I had come to see how that arm of yours is, but I can see clearly that it's malfunctioned again." He said as he pointed towards the oddly positioned replacement arm.

The ever-imposing mech merely smiled to the seasoned doctor. "So it would seem, old friend. However, I am sure you can fix such a minor problem." Optimus said as he sat back down again.

Ratchet walked over, and opened up some paneling on the arm, and hooked up some wires with a handheld medical scanner, looking over the diagnostics and readings. Leaving the medic to his work, Optimus picked up the old book he had been reading with his good hand, and continued on. He had been reading an ancient journal, from the early days of Cybertronian civilization. The pages held stories of the heroic first Thirteen Primes, and the world they built after Unicron had been banished from Cybertron.

About half an hour had passed by, when one of the palace guards approached Optimus.

"Lord Optimus, your mid-day appointments are waiting outside. Shall I send in the first of the bunch?" the guard said.

"Yes, I suppose so." Optimus said with a heavy sigh, knowing full well who had been first on the list of the day's visitors to him.

A few moments passed by, and soon enough, the sound of loud footsteps could be heard coming from the main hallway leading into the throne room. A large, robust mech with towering shoulders strided into the chamber. Their beige and black paint was scarred from millenia of battle, yet seemingly remained well kept. Ultra Magnus stood in the centre of the room, and gave a slight bow, and a fist-over-spark salute.

"My liege, it truly is an honor for you to allow me within-"

"Yes, yes, save the grovelling for later, Magnus. What is it that you wish to speak with me of?"

Ultra Magnus snapped back to his usual ridgid stance, his stern expression unwavering. "Sir, I have come to speak with you about the escaped members of the Decepticon high command. Surely we should have sent out ships to hunt them down by now?"

Optimus glared at Ultra Magnus, having now reminded him of that fateful day not too long ago, when the Decepticons destroyed the only functional space bridge the Autobots had.

"And how, pray tell, do you plan on getting to them? Perceptor says it will take months before he can repair the space bridge, and the city speaker I have sent for to repair Metroplex has yet to arrive from Caminus. We may have their destination coordinations, Magnus, but we lack the means of getting to them." Optimus finished, in a annoyed tone.

The Autobot commander stood up from his throne, and looked to one of the hallways leading off from the room. With a small chuckle, he called out, "I know you are there, you two. No need to hide."

Slowly creeping out from behind the corner, came two young adult bots. One of them, the taller and clearly older, if not by much of the two, had a dark purple that matched Optimus', and black highlights splashed across his body. The second, slightly smaller one was pitch-black all over, with a few marks of a bright yellow. What stood out the most with this one though, was his bright blue optics.

"Sorry for snooping, sire. Bumblebee and I just wanted a closer look at what your job is like…" the purple one said, embarrassingly. Optimus only laughed, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "You need not apologize, Rodimus. It is only natural for you to be interested, as one day you shall find yourself in my place."

***But sire, we do have some good news for you!*** Bumblebee buzzed cheerfully.

"Oh, yeah, that's right!" Rodimus said, taking a moment to remember. "That's kinda why we came here in the first place."

"Well, what news might that be, young ones?" Optimus said, as he sat back down.

"My warship, the Lost Light, thanks again for giving it to me Magnus, has recently gotten a few upgrades that could really help us chase down Megatron and the rest of his Decepticon goons." Rodimus said, unable to contain his excitement. "We managed to get Brainstorm, one of Perceptor's assistants, to hook up some sort of quantum-drive-doohickey to our main engines, and as long as we have a set direction to go, we can warp ourselves without a spacebridge!"

Optimus considered this for a moment, knowing full well to never pass up such an opportunity, especially one to capture his long-time rival.

"Very well then Rodimus, you have my blessing to conduct this mission of yours. Take whomever you wish, so long as you manage to bring me those Decepticons, alive or dead. After all, we must avenge all who have fallen, including your dearest carrier." Optimus mused, as he gestured to his right, where on the far wall was a brilliantly painted tapestry of the black and magenta warrior Elita One, surrounded by intricate patterns.

"Thank you sire. We won't let you down." Rodimus said, in a more serious voice, as he and Bumblebee left to prepare.

* * *

At the spaceport of Iacon, Rodimus had been going over the mission plans with his crew, whilst Bumblebee was assisting in recruitment and obtaining supplies. Much to the annoyance of the two brothers, Ultra Magnus had insisted on joining them. Seemingly unable to dissuade him from the notion, they begrudgingly agreed to allow him on the mission.

The bot in question was busy shouting commands to the many lower-ranked soldiers and Autotroopers in the cargo hold, trying to maintain control as always.

"You know, you'd be a lot more popular with the troops f you weren't such a hard-aft on everyone," a voice said from behind him.

"Ah, Prowl, how am I not surprised that the master tactician would find a way on to this vessel." Ultra Magnus said, looking back over his shoulder at the Autobot's chief of security.

"Prime's orders. I am here to report directly back to him. And to make sure nobody goes rogue during this 'Decepticon hunt' as he called it."

"Always the favorite of Optimus', aren't you? Surprised he didn't take you in like he did that disabled scout." Ultra Magnus said, fully facing him now.

"Because he knows I dont scheme my way up the chain of command, unlike you," Prowl said. He turned to walk out of the cargo hold, he turned back for just a second, saying, "Just remember, Rodimus is in charge here. Don't make me have to tell Optimus a certain somebot thought otherwise." With that, he finally left, leaving the disgruntled Ultra Magnus to stew.

"This is going to be a long trip…" he said to nobody in particular. Looking up, he noticed that some Autotroopers had stopped and watched.

"Uh, Get back to work!" he yelled, as he stalked off elsewhere.


	4. Chapter 3: Contact Part 1

**Notes: This time around, we introduced to the human characters.**

It had been well over a month since the _Nemesis_ had gone down in what the Decepticons now know as the Nevada desert. Luckily for them, the crash was in fairly close proximity to a human military base that had been setup to shield the downed Decepticon cargo ship, the _Harbinger_, and so the now Megatron's half-functional capital ship was hidden behind restricted lines as well. In this short period of time since their arrival, the Decepticons had taken on Earth alternate modes, as agent Fowler had made it explicit that they had to keep their presence on Earth a secret.

Now that the Decepticons had acclimated to their directive of being "robots in disguise", there was little more to do other than scouting for energon, of which the planet had been seeded with plenty of the stuff a long time ago, and keeping an ever watchful optic on the sky above, incase any Autobot ships came looking for them.

Driving across the back roads of the Nevada deserts, Airachnid was out on one of her usual patrols around the vicinity of their crashed base of operations. She had been on this planet long enough to have already taken in many of the sights, natural and human-made, but she had always been partial to their base's location.

She had been away from base for no more than an hour or two at this point, enjoying her peaceful patrol in solitude, only having to comm a report back to base whenever Soundwave or St-3 checked in on her. Airachnid found it funny, really. For so long, it had been just been their little scouting party, of Barricade, Blackout, and herself here on Earth, sometimes going days without contacting each other. Now, with the arrival of the Decepticon top brass, they slowly had to return to the standard protocol.

"Well, it sure sounds nice that you guys had the run of the place," St-3 crackled over the comms back to her, during one such routine check-in. "I'm not surprised you did, though. If I was an Autobot, I would steer clear of any solar system that had three of the finest Decepticon warriors in it!"

"Yeah? You're not too bad yourself. What was that story you always tell? The one about how you and your batalion defended an entire city for 700 years."

"Eh, beginner's luck. My troops and I had just completed basic training, and happened to be in the area when we caught word of the Autobots breaking through the front lines."

"Always the modest one," Airachnid chuckled. However, she wouldn't be laughing for much longer.

As Airachnid came turn off the road she was on, now headings towards a human town, she activated her holomatter avatar, and rolled down the streets of Jasper, Nevada. As she turned down a street, close to the centre of the somewhat-small town, two black and dark purple muscle cars came out of nowhere, and started following her. She looked back, noticing that they had Autobot insignia on their grills.

"Autobots finally showed up, huh? Lets see if we can't shake em'." She said, as she turned down another street, and then again at random. Once she thought that she had confused them enough, she pulled into what the humans called a "drive-in" and let her holomatter avatar dissipate. Just then, she realised that she wasn't alone. Sitting at a table nearby was two young humans, who thankfully paid her no mind.

…

"Alright, that's the basics on advanced geometry. Any questions Miko?... Miko, were you even paying attention?" a young boy in a yellow sweater with brown hair said annoyedly. The girl who he had been talking with, was plucking at the strings of her guitar in boredom. She had streaks of bright red in her hair and a shirt of some rock band. Miko looked up from her guitar, and pulled off her headphones.

"Yeah, yeah, I was listening to ya', Raf. I was just hoping that you would have made it less, you know, boring!" she exclaimed.

"Well, how would you have liked to learn the material? A rock ballad about it?"

"Ew, no! That sounds like something they would play on some cheap kids show."

Raf sighed, as he picked up his bag and got up. "Well, I gotta go Miko. See you at school tomorrow. And remember what I said,"

"Yes.'Study, study, study.' Hard to forget." Miko said with a small laugh, as she picked up her own belongings and left soon after.

'What a relief,' Airachnid thought to herself, as she let out a heavy vent, glad that they never even gave her a glance. As she observed the surrounding area, she determined that it was time to get going again. Before she could, another human, slightly older than the other two, stepped out of the drive in she was parked at. He brushed something off is his clothing, and pulled out his phone. "Hi mom… yeah, work went fine… I'll be home soon… Be careful, really? This is Jasper, what kind of things could happen here?"

Placing his phone back into his pocket, Jack started to walk back home after his tiring shift at work. Just as Airachnid had thought he hadn't seen her, he turned and couldn't take his eyes off of her. "Hello beautiful, where have you been all my life?" he exclaimed as he walked up to the motorcycle. He ran his hands over the handlebars, than took a seat. "You're incredible. As much as I want to, I'm not sure if I am ready to take a ride on a masterpiece like you."

'By Primus, is this how all humans treat their vehicles?' Airachnid thought to herself.

"Are you really talking to your motorbike, Jack?" a new voice said.

Jack looked up, meeting the eyes of an amused looking girl about his age.

"Talking to it?... No no no, and it's not mine. Just admiring it, that's all. How are you Sierra?" Jack quickly stammered, trying, and somewhat succeeding, to act casual.

"Same-old, same-old, I guess." she said with a shrug. "Not like theres anything new or exciting in Jasper anyways."

Suddenly, the roar of engines was heard, as two dark colored muscle cars pulled into the parking lot, and shined their high-beams onto the two teenages and the robot in disguise next to them. As the two cars charged at them, Sierra ran out of their way. Airachnid, however, bolted off, with Jack still in the seat. She charged right towards the two attackers, and scraped right between them, sparks flying as their metal bodies ran across each other.

As they darted down the street, Jack finally came to his senses, and cried out, "What's going on?!"

"Do not let go!" Airachnid snapped at him.

"Who said that?" Jack exclaimed, looking around for where the voice could have come from.

The two Autobots finally caught up to them both, each on either side of Airachnid and her stowaway human. Airachnid caught on fast, and braked hard, getting behind the two, letting them slam right into each other. With their pursuers in a daze, she quickly ducked into an alleyway.

Jack jumped off the sentient motorcycle, and stared at it in confusion.

"What even are you?" he asked shakily.

"I don't exist," Airachnid quickly snapped, "If you tell anyone about me, I will hunt you down."

Scared out of his mind, Jack ran off down another alleyway, as the two Autobots finally caught up to Airachnid. Looking back, she noticed one of them duck down the path that the human had taken.

"Scrap" she said, as she turned back around to try and save the human. She revved up, and used the Autotrooper as a ramp, jumping right over them. Driving down the same alley she had seen Jack and the other Autotrooper go down, she saw the two up ahead. The dark muscle car was ramming past everything in its path, gaining ground on the helpless human.

Airachnid maneuvered around the Autobot, and got up bedies Jack.

"Hop on!" She said. He quickly followed suit, and the two sped away as their pursuers regrouped, and continued the chase. Nearing the open freeway, the two Autobots transformed parts of their front end, revealing blasters, and began to open fire upon the Decepticon and her unwitting human accomplice.

"Why are those guys shooting at us?" Jack yelled out over the noise of the busy freeway.

"There's no 'us', kid. And those aren't guys." Airachnid replied sternly.

As Airachnid bobbed and weaved in between traffic, the two Autobots were brutishly pushing ramming aside any vehicles in their way. Coming up behind them however, was another muscle car, not too much unlike them, in a vibrant blue, with white racing stripes over it. The newcomer crashed right into one of the Autotroopers, sending all three of them spinning out. This blue muscle car, as if just to show off, kicked into reverse, and managed to brake and turn back to catch up with the white motorcycle.

"A friend of yours?" Jack asked hastily, looking back at the newcomer.

"Family," Airachnid replied, in a more gentle tone than before.

…

Raf, still having some spare time that day, had gone down the street from his home to race his RC car under the bridge. He was enjoying himself, making general race car sounds as he steered around a miniature obstacle course he set up.

He was pulled from his own little world, as he heard the sound of an engine roaring, and it was getting close. Very close. He looked up just in time to see a white motorcycle fly right over his head, and land only a few yards away.

Dumbfounded at what he saw, he dropped his controller, simply saying, "Woah," with a look of amazement on his face.

Jack, looking up at the younger boy, sighed. "You have… no idea" he huffed, as he caught his breath from all the excitement he had gone through, slowly getting off of the motorcycle.

Just then, the same two dark muscle cars came roaring down the hill. As they descended, they transformed mid-air, revealing themselves to the humans.

Then, the motorbike transformed as well, revealing a smaller looking robot than the Autotroopers.

"This ends here, Autobots." She said, as she began charging towards them. The two Autotroopers opened fire, their bright red laser blasts focused on the lone Decepticon. Airachnid kept running at them, miraculously dodging their storm of blaster fire. As she got close, she leapt up into the air, and came crashing down on one. She flipped back, and kicked the other Autotrooper in the face, and started to go to dtown on them. She almost felt bad for the poor fraggers, they must not have known how skilled of a warrior they would be up against.

Meanwhile, the two young humans watched from the sidelines, in awe of what they were witnessing.

"What are they?" Raf asked.

"Talking cars that turn into robots. Or the other way around." Jack replied, neither of them taking their eyes off the fight taking place before them.

Just as Airachnid had thought she had beaten her opponents, they both got back up, and opened fire once more. She began to leap backwards, trying to avoid being hit, but a shot got her right in her chest, knocking her down.

Then, from up above on the freeway, the same blue muscle car as before came speeding off the edge of the bridge, and transformed, revealing a vaguely similar, yet distinctly different build to that of the Autotroopers, landing right on top of one of the Autobot attackers, and slammed his fist right into the face of the other one.

Stepping back from his handiwork, he heard a crunch under his foot. He tensed up a little, and looked down under himself. It was Raf's RC toy that had been crushed.

"Ah scrap. Sorry about that, kid." St-3 said apologetically.

"It's no problem, really." Raf said.

Just then however, the blue Decepticon took a large blast to the chest, and was sent flying. The two Autobots approached, looming over St-3 as he was pinned down.

"Leave him alone!" Raf shouted out, in a moment of bravery. The two assailants looked over to where he was. "Please?…" he continued, meekly.

One of the Autotroopers started to walk over to where the humans were, as Jack and Raf started to run away. Luckily, there was a drainage pipe nearby, and they reached it just in time. The large dark robot reached inside to grab them, but was thwarted when St-3 finally took them down.

Looking back as he continued to run, Raf only managed to say, "Thank you," back to the large blue warrior.

…

While St-3 was taking care of the safety of the two humans, Airachnid had been just barely holding off the second Autobot. The two Decepticons were cornered, in a battle of even match. Then, the blaring of a horn could be heard, as a big orange armored truck drove right into one of the Autobots, offlining them instantly. Breakdown transformed, and shifted his left hand into a large hammer.

"Trust me, 'Bot. If you don't wanna end up like your friend here, you'd better scram."

With that, the last Autotrooper looked to his fallen comrade, and transformed, speeding away.

* * *

Back onboard the _Nemesis_, Airachnid and St-3 were reporting on the day's situation. And as was expected, Megatron was not taking the news of the Autobots' arrival on Earth all too well. In fact, as soon as the mere mention of their presence came up, he dropped everything, and doubled Decepticon patrols around the globe. When he had finished distributing his new set of orders, he resumed with the briefing.

"And I belive you mentioned something about a human, Airachnid?" Megatron said, turning to the two who had been involved in the event.

"Two boys, to be exact." St-3 chimed in from his seat at their makeshift meeting room, in the next room over from the bridge of the warship.

"I guess the second one caught us in action?... I dunno, was a little preoccupied at the time." Airachnid said.

Megatron hung his head down, pondering something. After a few moments, he looked up to them again. "If the Autobots have truly arrived at full force, then anyone perceived as our ally will be at grave risk…"

* * *

It was the day after the 'event', as Jack walked down the steps of his high school, after a long and boring day of classes. Just as he reached the bottom of the steps, something caught his eye. Raf was waving at him to come over.

"Raf, hey." he said, waving at him. "Look, lets just keep this between us and forget anything ever happened, ok?" But before he could continue, Raf pointed out the same blue and white muscle car from the day before.

"Jack, look!" Raf exclaimed, as it pulled up alongside the two of them. The passenger side door swung open, revealing a young man in a dark pants, gray shirt, and a dark blue and white jacket that resembled the car's paint job, and his eyes were hidden behind blue tinted sunglasses. But as soon as it appeared, a few second later, the person in the driver's seat was gone.

"Don't worry kid, nothing but a hologram. Hop in, I've got a lot of explaining to do."

"Well, I'd rather not go anywhere with you." Jack said cautiously.

St-3 chuckled at this. "Don't worry, you won't be. Your ride is over there."

With that, Jack turned around, seeing the ever familiar white and gray motorcycle from yesterday.

Jack sighed, mumbling some obscenity under his breath. "Look, I really don't that-"

"How's it going?" Raf asked, cutting off Jack as he closed the door, and drove off with St-3.

He turned back, looking at the mysterious motorcycle that has entered his life. He stood there a few moments, staring it down, before he started to walk away.

…

Miko wasn't much of an artist, unless it was in musical arts. But, when an unfamiliar build of motorcycle parked itself right out front of her high school, well, she started trying her best at taking down the image on a bit of scrap paper she managed to fish out of her bag.

"Coolest. Bike. Ever." she said to herself, looking up at it once again.

Her phone rang, distracting her for a moment. "Host parents? Ignore." she said, placing it back in her pocket. When she looked back up again, the motorbike was gone.

However, she saw it speed past out of the corner of her eye, and she ran after it.

…

Jack had ducked down an old disused side street, hoping to keep away from that damned motorbike that kept showing up. But before he could react, it had sped in front of him, turning to face him head on.

"Easy, I just want to talk with you." Airachnid said

"Don't you mean you and your new friend?" Jack retorted angrily, gesturing at the nondescript rider on the bike.

"Kid, there's a lot that you don't understand." Airachnid said, trying to keep calm with the stubborn human.

"No its cool, I get it. First rule of robot fight club, is don't talk about robot fight club. But you have to understand that I don't want a bunch of talking vehicles following me around trying to get me killed!"

Airachnid transformed, letting out a heavy vent. "Look. Jack, is it? Your personal safety is exactly why Megatron has requested your presence."

"Wait, Mega-who?"

"Jack, your safety is at risk because you are one of the few, one of the only who have ever seen us!" Airachnid exclaimed, trying her best to keep some level of composure.

"Dude, what are you waiting for? Go with the cool robo-lady!" Miko exclaimed, as she came out from behind a corner.

"Scrap." Airachnid said in a tone of annoyance.

* * *

As the two Decepticons, who the humans had now learned to be Airachnid and St-3V3, and their human passengers were driving through the middle of nowhere, Airachnid and Jack where having a hard time putting up with Miko, who kept asking questions and screaming in excitement.

"Remind me, why are we bringing her?" Jack asked.

"Rules." Airachnid responded.

Soon enough, they had reached the edges of a region of rocky terrain and canyons. As the small convoy drove as if they were to crash into a cliff, a secret door slid open, revealing a tunnel. As they drove through, they eventually exited out the other side, at what appeared to be a fully developed military base. In the middle of the large compound, was a massive spaceship, though clearly it was crash site. Off to one side in an open area, a group of robots similar to St-3 were undergoing some sort of training exercise. In another area, a gathering of trucks and cars were racing around a dirt track, with a few onlookers watching and cheering.

As they drove up to the ship itself, the humans got out of the Decepticons as they transformed.

"Jack, Miko, Raf. Welcome aboard the Nemesis." Airachnid said, gesturing at the large vessel they stood in front of.

"Yep, home sweet home." St-3 said with a laugh, as they started their journey to the bridge.

It took a while, as Raf and Miko kept wanting to run off and explore the whole ship, but after a while, they finally reached the bridge.

The large room was fairly sparse at the time, other than a few Vehicons,there was a tall dark mech with some sort of robotic cat curled around his legs, typing away at a terminal, and two other ones, a large orange and gray one and a pale blue one with red markings, were talking and laughing about something on the other side of the room.

The two from the other side of the room came over first,and started talking with St-3 about something in some unrecognisable language. The robotic cat noticed the new arrivals as well, and strode over to them, curious about them. The tall one looked over as well, at the tree new humans.

"Inquiry: You reported only two human youths?" Soundwave asked.

"Haven't you heard? They multiply." Airachnid said jokingly.

"Hi, I'm Jack..." the eldest one said.

"I'm Raf." said the youngest one, waving up at those around them.

"I'm Miko. Who are you?" she asked, walking up to the big orange 'con nearby.

"Name's Breakdown." He replied, a little hesitant at how quickly she asked.

"Are you a car? I bet your a truck, a monster truck! You like heavy music? How much do you weigh? You probably use a wrecking ball. No! A giant hammer?" Miko asked quickly, leaving little room for Breakdown to get a word in.

"So, if your robots, who made you?" Raf asked to noone in particular.

"Ugh, please." Knockout said indignantly.

Behind them, the door to the bridge opened, as two more Cybertronians stepped in. One was red and silver, and their wings gave away that they could fly. The other one, had a tall and bulky build, but their face seemed calm and friendly. He smiled down at them, before kneeling to talk to them on a better level.

"Greetings, young ones. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. Do not let the name fool you, it was a name given to us by those who opposed us, but we have taken it and stride, and now seek to thwart the deception of others, and defend others from tyranny." Megatron said.

"Why are you here on Earth?" Jack asked.

"To defend both your world and ourselves from the Autobots."

"The clowns that tried to bump us off the other day." Airachnid chimed in.

"Ok, but why are they here too?"

Megatron stood up, and walked over to the central terminal on the bridge. He started pulling up image and video files showing their homeworld of Cybertron.

"In part, because of us. A long time ago, we hid caches of energon and munitions upon the Earth, before humans even came into existence. When we fled our home at the end of our war, we choose to retreat here."

"Why were you fighting a war?" Raf asked.

"Mainly, we fought over political power and resources. Millions of years ago, a corrupt senate ruled over our home world of Cybertron. They dictated everything to the people, and very few members of society held any power at all. Depending on one's optic color, frame size, and alternate mode, you would be placed into a caste, and could never move up in the world. In the beginning of the war, I fought alongside one I called brother, a library clerk named Orion Pax. One day, he was granted the 'honor' of becoming a Prime, a spiritual and cultural leader of Cybertron and it's colony worlds. However, the newfound power changed him for the worse, and he split off, founding the Autobots." Megatron said, stopping on an image of the purple and blue warlord.

"Ok, so you don't want us to talk about this, got it. And you also want to protect us? Great, fine. But something tells me you want something from us, right?" Miko said, now perched atop Breakdown's shoulder.

"You are correct, Miko. For you see, we are still strangers to this world, very few of us having any interactions with humans, and up until now it has been military and government personnel. What I had in mind was you acting more along the lines as guides for us while we are on your world." Megatron replied.

The kids looked at each other, in silent contemplation. After a few moments, Jack stepped forward a little. "You can count us in." he said.

* * *

**The Lost Light: Somewhere on Earth's Moon.**

"You insolent maggot, I can't believe you let the Decepticons escape!" Ultra Magnus yelled, as he kicked the downed Autotrooper once again. "At the very least, you should have stood your ground, and died out there like your fellow Autobot!"

"Lay off him, Magnus." Rodimus said from his commanders chair on the bridge, as he toyed around with a dagger. "We have to make sure to have as minimal casualties as possible. We can't exactly ask Iacon to send us more troops if we have our afts handed to us and lose everyone."

Ultra Magnus strode over to Rodimus, leaving the battered Autotrooper on the ground.

"Well I for one would rather we do something about the Decepticons down on that planet sooner than later. Wipe them out before they can regroup and attack Cybertron." He said, staring down his commander.

"Wipe them out how exactly? Just wait for them to come out of their hidden base and attack whoever it is at full force?" Rodimus said.

"Ideally, yes."

Rodimus stood up, waving his knife around nonchalantly. He looked back at the Autotrooper that Magnus had been tormenting, and watched as Bumblebee assisted them out of the bridge, and hopefully to the medbay. Before he left, his black and yellow brother shot him a look that he knew all too well. Rodimus turned abruptly back to Ultra Magnus, who had apparently was still rambling about some great plan of his, and slapped him right across the face-plate.

"You wanted on this mission, so I'll be putting you to work. You get to be on the next team down to that 'Con infested rock." Rodimus said, in an aggressive tone he unintentionally picked up from his sire.

And with that, he subspaced his dagger, and left the bridge in a hurry. He knew 'Bee had some choice words for him this time.


	5. Chapter 4: Contact Part 2

Rodimus strode down the corridors of the _Lost Light_, dead-set on catching up with his brother. He wasn't in as much of a hurry as he first was, as he figured he knew where, or at least narrowed it down, to where Bumblebee would be. Walking down the corridors of his mighty warship, he admired just how well kept it managed to be, even after all the millennia of war. 'Yeah, my ship,' He thought to himself, proudly. Optimus had thought it would be excellent leadership practice for his eldest creation to command his own ship. Of course, convincing Ultra Magnus to ceade one of the Autobots' most powerful vessels to an inexperienced youth was a challenge, but with his sire pulling a few strings, Rodimus had mostly gotten his way through the ordeal.

As he turned down the next corner of the of the corridor, he saw just the mech he was looking for. Leaning back against the wall next to the medbay, arms folded across his chest, was Bumblebee. He walked up to him quietly, trying not to startle him, and gently placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"How is the patient fairing?" Rodimus asked, in a more polite tone than usual. Bumblebee simply shrugged, and slid down the wall, resting on the cold metal floor.

***First Aid is doing the best he can, but he said if Magnus had gone on any longer, well, that poor bot wouldn't be online any more…*** he whirred somberly.

Before he could even continue, Rodimus, in a rare sign of affection, embraced his younger brother.

"I know it's been difficult for you, after what that 'Con did to your voicebox, to see things like that." Rodimus said, doing his best to calm his younger brother down. He didn't necessarily care if any of the crew caught them like this, most of them have served under the two brothers long enough to understand the full picture.

***I just don't get why sire keeps that monster around. There are plenty of training dummies down in the rec room, why can't he take his anger out on those, and not his fellow Autobots?*** Bumblebee buzzed, as small drops of cleaner fluid ran down his faceplate.

"I'm sorry, I know I should have stopped him the moment he raised his voice." The slightly older mech continued, patting his dismayed brother on the back. They sat in silence for a few more moments, though to them it felt like ages.

"Now, I have to go take care of arranging the next mission down to the planet. You sure you'll be fine?" Rodimus asked cautiously as he stood back up. He held out a hand, to which Bumblebee took to help get up.

***Yes, I'm better now.* **he said neutrally. ***Thank you, for putting up with me. I know it's not easy sometimes.***

"Hey, no need for thanks. I know that you'd do the same for me. And besides, those sessions with Rung have helped you a lot. I'm sure you'll be back to kicking 'Con tailpipe in no time." Rodimus said jovially, as he strode away.

As the purple mech walked down the halls, he commed a simple message to a certain slaghead SIC.

/You'd better be ready, meet me in the hangar ASAP./

…

In accordance with Rodimus' orders, Ultra Magnus had assembled his team and were currently en-route to their target destination on Earth. Onboard what would act as their mobile HQ for the time being, Ultra Magnus' crew were preparing themselves. Sharpening blades, cleaning blasters, and checking up on themselves, the assembled Autobots were selected because they had all stood out to Ultra Magnus. To his right, piloting the small craft was Wheeljack, his disgruntled but loyal weapons and engineering expert. Somewhere else on board were two more of his finest, that being Bulkhead, whos talents mostly consisted of A, building stuff, and B, breaking it twice as good as anyone else. And his direct subordinate, Seaspray. A fearsome boat-former from the time Cybertron once had water oceans, the old warrior had proven himself time and time again in the heat of battle. These three were the best of Magnus' old unit, the Wreckers. Other than the Wreckers, Ultra Magnus had brought along a few other Autobots he knew that he could rely upon. That being Cliffjumper, Brawn, Hoist, and Jazz.

The team's mission was to secure whatever energon they could find on this out of the way planet. Currently however, they were on their way to some mountain range, where an energon mining operation had already been set up. They didn't worry about being detected, as a combination of the dimness of the late-day sun, and the shuttle's cloaking technology, would surely prevent detection from anyone's sensors, human or Cybertronian.

* * *

With it having gotten so late into the evening, due to a combination of the kids losing track of time, and the Decepticons still adjusting to a shorter solar cycle, it was time for the kids to be taken back home. That afternood had been mostly spent introducing the humans to as many of the Decepticons that they could, and further answering any questions they had about Cybertron and their history. However, when agent Fowler showed up for an expected visit for on update on the Autobots, he was a little shocked at the presences of three youths, but after much explaining from Megatron, the special agent let the incident slide, so long as they did not get in harm's way.

Miko practically had to be dragged off the _Nemesis_ when it was time for them all to go home. The ride back to her host parent's place was filled with loud rock music and more questions, now mostly focused on the topic of the 'Con she as speaking with, Breakdown.

"So, you and Knockout aren't from Cybertron?" she asked, turning down the music volume to hear his response better.

"No, we aren't, but I get why you'd be confused by that."

"Well, yeah!" she exclaimed, "Giant transforming robots don't sound like something that would just happen to exist on multiple planets!"

"A long time ago, Cybertron sent out colony ships to broaden their influence to other worlds, including ours. Velocitron, to be exact. Every speed-freak's dream, really. Our whole culture is based around racing, and everywhere you went there's just endless roads and racetracks running off into the horizon, with towns and cities dotted along the busiest routes."

"That's so cool, but uhh, no offence, you don't seem like much of a speedster yourself." Miko said questioningly, indicating to heavy-set frame of the Stunticon in question.

Breakdown chuckled at this. "No, your right. Speed was always Knock's thing, whereas I stuck to off-roading it most of the time. We might not have had such an oppressive caste system as Cybertron did, but Knockout sure started getting some strange looks when we first got together." Breakdown said, as his mind trailed off on thoughts of times gone by.

"Woah, dude stop!" Miko shouted, pulling Breakdown out of his trance. He braked hard, screeching to a halt in front of where Miko was staying.

"Almost went right past it big guy," she said in a jesting manner.

"Hehe, sorry about that. Got a little distracted."

"So, where ya' going next?" Miko asked as she got out of the orange armored truck.

"Nowhere, I'm on curbside duty in case any other Autobots come for you humans." he replied.

"Well, see ya in the morning big guy." Miko said, as she walked up to her house, and disappeared from sight.

…

Raf's ride home was fairly similar to that of Miko's, that being it was mostly a matter of getting to know their new guardians. When the conversation inevitably turned to the 'childhood' per-say of St-3, Raf was rather shocked with what he found out.

"A drone? That's what you and the rest of the Vehicons were meant to be?" Raf asked, dismayed at thought of all those individuals he'd met that day originating as cookie-cutter canon fodder.

"Yes, but thankfully that's not how things turned out for us." St-3 said reassuringly. "Sure, we all look alike, but every single one of us has some sort of tell, something that makes them unique. For most of us, we either have some sort of decals, like what you would call a tattoo. Some of us, myself included, go all-in on a new paint job we like. Rarest that I've seen though, are the few who get their frames changed entirely. Making themselves bigger, smaller, I wouldn't be surprised if at one point they tried to make a Vehicon combiner."

"So, what about your names? They are all just your batch numbers, has anyone chosen a 'real' name?" Raf asked.

St-3 pondered on this for a moment. He had never put much thought into giving himself a new name, as most everybot knew him, and during wartime it would get confusing to change one's designation, especially of a commanding officer.

"How about it then, a new name that is." he said after a while. "Got any suggestions, Raf?"

"Well, in some shorthand and informal text messaging, '3' is sometimes a substitute for an 'E', making your name 'Steve'." Raf replied, finding the idea of an alien taking on a human name funny.

"Steve, huh? I gotta say, I like the sound of it. And not too far off from my old name, either. Steve it is then." the newly-renamed Steve replied, jovially.

The rest of their ride was filled with further talks on how Earth culture and society functioned, along with similarities and contrasts with Cybertron.

…

Quiet. That was how one would describe Jack's ride back home. Other than the sound Airachnid's engine, and the rumble of her tyres on the asphalt, not much else was to be heard from either of the two. Out over the distant hills, the not-quite-yet-setting sun shone bright across the desert landscape, it's rays bathing everything in a sheen of golden orange.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Airachnid spoke up, unsure what else to say in the given situation. Jack looked confused for a moment, until he looked off and saw the bright light's radiance.

"Oh, yeah, sunsets are always pretty nice around this time of year." Jack replied, not picking up on Airachnid's mood towards it.

"I'll never get tired of seeing it. Reminds me of home." she replied, in a longing manner.

"Oxygen filled atmospheres always give off the best ones, really. The way the light danced and shimmered across the various colored metals and crystal formations of Cybertron is- no, _was_ a sight to behold." she continued, more melancholic now.

"Wait, what? Your planet had an atmosphere? I mean, I know most planets do, but like, with air and ozone and all that stuff?"

"Yes, Cybertron did have what you humans would consider to be a 'breathable' atmosphere. And yes we do breathe, kind of. At the end of the day, we are machines, so our internal workings have to be kept cool. Venting, as we call it, allows us to cycle out fresh air, so that our coolant does not go stale."

"And you said something about Cybertron not being that way anymore?" Jack continued.

"Our weapons are far more destructive than anything you humans have made, and we were using them for four million years. Whole continental regions might never fully recover. You humans would probably die if you tried to breathe back home." Airachnid replied, in a matter-of-factly tone.

They rode in silence for a few more minutes, until they finally arrived at Jack's house. As they pulled into the driveway, jack pulled out his remote, and the garage door opened, and they drove inside.

"Roomy." Airachnid commented, observing the mostly empty garage.

"Yeah, well, make yourself at home I guess." Jack said, walking over to a worktable and set down his helmet, then closed the garage door.

Airachnid transformed, stretching out her limbs as much as she could confines of the garage.

"Let me guess, a minimalist? Never seen a garage so empty." Airachnid asked, curiously.

"Mom is, I guess. Doesn't hold onto anything she doesn't want for too long," Jack replied.

Just then, the sound of a car could be heard pulling up into the driveway.

"And speak of the devil…" Jack said, amused.

"I'll make myself scarce then." Airachnid said, transforming back into her alt-mode.

The garage door started to open, revealing a beige colored sedan now parked in the driveway. A woman with black hair, nurse's scrubs, and a bit taller than Jack, stepped out of the car.

"Jack? What is that… " June said, eyeing her son as he ran up to her.

"Mom, don't panic. I can explain." Jack said hurriedly.

"Can you?" she said, as she strode up next to the white and gray motorcycle. She kneeled down next to it, looking it over intently. "Jackson Darby, I did not expect this from you. I worry about you enough when you're not here, now I have to worry about you driving a motorcycle?"

Jack sighed, saying, "I'm sixteen, I can't be riding a ten-speed forever."

"How did you even afford this?"

"Um, it's used. It's, abused really. Needs a ton of repairs…" Jack continued, as he walked back over to the worktable, picking up his helmet.

"I may have been a kid when I bought this, but I'm not anymore. You always tell me to make responsible choices, so I chose her." he said, as they both stood next to the motorcycle. "And I'll be responsible. I promise."

"Her? I didnt think youd be bringing home girls just yet."

"I'd like to think she brought me."

"Well, I'm glad your starting to be responsible. You'll be good enough for the adult world soon enough." June said with a laugh.

"I still have a few more years I have to cross that bridge." Jack said, turning to enter the house.

"You go on ahead, I have some things I have to get out of the car first." June said, as she turned back. However, all she got out of her car was an old toolbox. She set it down on the garage floor, and opened it up. She grabbed a flashlight, and went back to the motorcycle. Checking the space between the body and the front wheel, she found what she was after; the bright red Decepticon insignia.

June couldn't help but laugh a little, though still making sure she wasn't heard, as she put everything away again. Before she went inside, she whispered something to the motorcycle.

"Take care of him, 'Nid. Or I just might scrap you myself." June said, lightheartedly.

* * *

The next day, it was a Saturday. The kids were excited at this, because it meant that they got to spend the whole day hanging out with the 'Cons. However, things at the _Nemesis_ were very much different from how it was yesterday. It was as if it was a day off for them as well. Most of the Decepticons were either in their personal quarters, lounging in the various common rooms, or even just goofing around outside. Even the Constructicons had stopped their work on repairing the exterior of the warship for the day.

However, a small group of 'Cons and humans were up to something. In one of the empty corners of the fairly spacious bridge, Steve and Breakdown were working on setting up an elevated platform and a set of catwalks so that the humans could be closer to level with them. On his laptop, Raf had opened pictures of various buildings and monuments around the world, as the two Cybertronians had little knowledge of construction.

"So, this 'I-Fell Tower thing, is it some sort of antenna?" Breakdown asked curiously, as he placed another steel beam into position.

"'Eiffel', and it does have an antenna on top, but it was originally built for the World's Fair as the tallest structure in the world. Funny thing is, they didn't expect it to be set up permanently." Raf said with a laugh.

Sitting on top one of the supply crates, Miko looked up from where she was practicing on her guitar. "We have something similar back home, called the Tokyo Tower, but it's not as big. You guys should totally visit Tokyo someday, I can be your tour guide. It's a huge metropolis, just like the ones you described on Cybertron!" she said. In her excitement at the thought of showing the Decepticons around, she accidentally flung her arm across her guitar, and a horrible screeching noise emanating from her amp. Everyone on the bridge, except for Soundwave of course, was stricken with annoyance at this, especially a certain slacking seeker.

Skywarp bolted upright from where he had been sleeping away, face-down on his terminal's keypad. The purple seeker snapped his head around to see where that racket was coming from, but when he saw Miko cringing in embarrassment, his expression gave way to a grin.

"Look Miko, don't get me wrong, I like your tunes. But I can barely walk as it is, I'd rather not be deaf, too!" He said, jokily waving his walking cane in her direction.

Suddenly, an alarm went off, and Soundwave flinched back in excitement at what the scanners had picked up. Laserbeak chirped in excitement from her perch atop the terminal's monitor. Skywarp also let out a cheer after checking what had appeared on his monitor.

"What's going on? Alarms aren't usually something to be so excited over." Jack said, uncertain of what had gotten into them.

Soundwave turned around, and on his facial screen, a 3-D image of a glowing blue cube appeared. "Energon located." he said, for once his synthesised voice taking on a more gleeful tone.

"Woah, that's great!" Steve exclaimed, "Our reserves weren't gonna last forever."

Timely as ever, considering Soundwave always had the sense to alert Megatron, and the fact that his quarters are just down the hall, the big man in silver entered onto the bridge.

"Soundwave, how certain are you of these findings?" Megatron asked, cutting straight to the point, not even noticing the humans nearby.

"Margin of Error: Beneath 1%." Soundwave said.

"If it really is one of the old energon caches we sent here, why is it appearing just now?" Breakdown asked.

"Conclusion: Revealed by landslides." Soundwave replied, as his mask showed a satellite image of a seemingly collapsed mountain.

"Considering this is our first detection of energon on this world since our arrival, we must not miss this opportunity." Megatron said. He then turned to Breakdown and Steve, "Come, we ready ourselves. For if we have located this energon, I have no doubts the Autobots will have as well." he continued, as he strode towards the door to leave.

"Skywarp, I trust you will have no problem watching over our human friends?"

"Hey, no problem boss! Screamer's always saying how childish I am, so I'm sure I'm best qualified to handle the kids for a while." Skywarp said.

Megatron also commed Starscream and Airachnid, requesting that they come along in case an Autobot presence arrives.

* * *

Megatron and his assembled team of Decepticons stepped out of the swirling vortex of the ground bridge, finding themselves faced with a large range of mountains, surrounded by a vast forest. Luckily for them, there was no human settlement nearby to notice the anomaly of a mountain caving in on itself.

"Spread out, and report anything unusual." Megatron said, as he motioned for Starscream to come with him. Steve and Airachnid went for the other side of the ridge, leaving Breakdown to investigate the hole at the top of the mountain.

"Welp, better get hiking then." he said to himself, as he began his ascent.

…

As Megatron and Starscream made their way around the mountain, the side where the landslide had come down, their handheld energon scanners started to go off. Starscream sifted through the debris of the large mound of earth and gravel, and picked up a small, dark blue crystal. Not needing his scanner, he held it up to the sun. The few lines and cracks simmered in the light.

"Very pure, practically high-grade in a raw form." the red seeker said.

"Ah yes, of course. I sometimes forget that you are a mech of science as well." Megatron mused.

"That was before the war. However, I see no downside in staying sharp in all my skill sets." Starscream said with a smirk, proud of his intellect.

The two kept checking over the runoff for a while, until something caught Megatron's optic. He dug out some of the dirt with his hands, and pulled out a handheld drill.

"It would appear that we are not alone here." He said, as he showed it to Starscream.

…

Airachnid and Steve were stuck traversing through much rougher terrain than what they had anticipated. Here, the forest was more dense, and large rocky outcroppings made it even more difficult to maneuver around, especially for beings of their size. As they slowly trudged through the terrain, their silence slowly turned to conversation.

"So…" Airachnid said, trying her best at this point. "How have you been?"

Steve cocked his head, finding the question rather odd.

"Uh, good, I guess? Yeah, great even! All of us for the first time in half a century are united. The best of the 'Cons, together at last and all that, ya know? Also glad to see you managing fine. And meeting Raf, Jack, and Miko has been great too. I tell ya, if they weren't so small and squishy, I might have just tried to recruit them on the spot." Steve said joyfully.

"And what about you?" the blue vehicon continued. "No offence, but you can sometimes get a little on edge."

"I like to think I'm doing well. Sure, I have my less desirable moments, but don't we all? After all, Starscream is a prime example of being both a nervous wreck and charismatic."

The two of them had a laugh at their SIC's expense, who nearly worked himself to exhaustion under any form of pressure.

"There was also that time Megatron forced him to take a vacation, whilst we were in the middle of a battle!" Airachnid continued.

"No matter how great of a warrior he is, I wouldn't be surprised if he just slipped into recharged for a whole year once this is all over." Steve said with a laugh.

As they wandered on for a few more minutes, the trees started to thin out as they drew closer to the cliffside. And soon enough, they had stepped out into a clearing, where they could see a cave, drillmarks making it apparent that it wasn't natural.

Airachnid acted fast, activating her comms. "Megatron, we found something"

…

"Excellent work you two, we shall be over as soon as we can. Breakdown, how goes your investigation?"

"Reaching the top now, gonna get a closer look at this big sinkhole. I'll keep ya updated." the large orange mech said.

Needless to say, he was fairly winded when he reached the top of the mountain, and had a hard time keeping his venting to a minimum over the comms. After a few moments of rest, he carefully walked up to the edge of the sinkhole. Peering down, his optics went wide at what he saw. It may have been a long way down, but the paint scheme of the Autotroopers was easy to recognise. He went further ever so slightly, as he reached back to grab his binoculars to better survey the situation.

Activating his comms, he said "Ok, I've reached the sinkhole, and you aren't gonna like it. The place is crawling with AutobOTSSS!" he cried, as the ground shifted beneath him, sending him falling into the cavern below.

He landed with a hard thud, landing on something metal probably. In his dazed state, he looked around at the vast mining operation that the Autobots had set up.

A tall, beige and black mech strode over to him.

"Hello, Decepticon. Nice of you to drop in." Ultra Magnus said with an evil grin.


	6. Chapter 5: Contact Part 3

All things considered, Skywarp was doing a pretty good job of looking after Jack, Raf and Miko. At least, as good of a job one could do when in the presence of some of the baddest influences possible to such young minds; Rumble and Frenzy. The two Cassetticon twins had managed to pin down Ravage without Soundwave noticing, and convinced Miko to take a ride on said cyber-cat. Needless to say, she was currently regretting this decision, as Ravage had taken off like a rocket down the many corridors of the ship.

"Honestly Skywarp, I don't how you even let this happen. Weren't you watching them?" Thundercracker said over the comms, as the two brothers scoured the ship for the runaway pair.

"I told you, I WAS watching them!" Skywarp retorted. "I turned my back for one second after getting a message from 'Screamer. Next thing I know, Ravage is screeching like he's been shot, and Miko was riding off into the sunset like a cowboy."

"Cow-boy?" Thundercracker asked in confusion.

"Historic human occupation. I saw some movies about the topic while I was in recovery. I think you'd learn from them, a lot more exciting than those depressing plays you write!"

Thundercracker chose to ignore his brother's remark on his creative abilities, and continued to focus on the task at hand. The blue seeker kept wondering the halls of the _Nemesis_ for a while longer, up until the point he was about to give up.

He rounded a corner, and he saw Skywarp walking towards him.

"I see you havent found them yet." Thundercracker said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, well neither have you, TC." Skywarp retorted.

As the two seekers walked down the main hallway of the ship, with Thundercracker slowing down so that Skywarp could keep up a bit better, that they noticed just how vacant the ship was.

"Boy, the kids sure weren't kidding about this place being empty when they showed up this morning. Usually, we would have passed several patrols by now." Skywarp wondered aloud.

"I can only assume that Megatron gave most of the crew the day off, or something along those lines."

"Ok, so we can't just tell everyone to keep an optic out for Miko and Ravage." Skywarp said, as he leaned against a wall to rest for a moment. "Doesn't Soundwave know how to locate the Cassetticons? Like, with trackers and stuff?"

"He told me he wanted you to clean up this mess whilst he dealt with Rumble and Frenzy."

"Well, isn't that grand. We've been searching the ship for 20 minutes, and we have barely covered this level!" Skywarp lamented.

Thundercracker looked around as he heard footsteps coming down the corridor, and his optics went wide at the sight of the large 'Con that approached, and what he had with him.

"I don't think we have to worry about finding them anymore." Thundercracker said, pointing at the large newcomer, looming over them.

"I believe this one belongs to you, Skywarp." Blackout said, as he held out Miko in his large hand. Skywarp reached out and took her, giving her a comforting smile.

"What in the Sam Hill is going on? First tall silent and creepy tells me about Megatron encountering more Autobots, and now I walk in on a robo-rodeo?" Agent Fowler said from atop Blackout's left shoulder.

"Sorry about that…" Miko said apologetically.

"Blame those twins for this absurd incident." Ravage hissed, as he appeared from behind the large helicopter-former.

Thundercracker rolled his optics, and started to walk away to whatever he was up to before being dragged into this.

Skywarp began to walk as well, with the rest in tow. "Now, let's get you all back to the bridge. I hear the situation on the ground is worsening." he said.

* * *

Breakdown stirred from his stasis, shifting on the crudely built slab he was placed on. The last thing he remembered was the ugly mug of the Autobot second in command, and being knocked out. He moved his body into a sitting position, legs hung over the side of the makeshift bed. Looking around, he saw that the cell he was in was just barely holding together, with what appeared to be an interrogation table in the middle of the enclosed room, a single light hanging down over it.

The door to the 'cell' opened, and in stepped a large, hulking mech in dark purple and yellow paint. Bulkhead walked over to the interrogation table, and sat down, placing two containers of energon down as well. He looked up, his optics meeting Breakdown's, as he gestures for him to come and sit down. Slowly, Breakdown stood up and went over to the table with caution, well aware of what his Autobot counterpart is capable of.

Sitting down, he took a sip out of his cup, as Bulkhead did the same.

"Still a bot of few words I see." Breakdown observed. The Wrecker simply shrugged, and took another swig of his drink.

"Ultra Magnus thinks I'm plenty intimidating without talking." Bulkhead responded.

"So, I'm guessing that's why you're here?" Breakdown asked.

Bulkhead shifted, resting his servos on the table, and leaned in.

"You know just as well as everybot that I'm not the most gentle of mechs." Bulkhead said. "But we both know Jazz wont hold back when trying to get what intel he wants, so I'm here to give you a chance. Think of this as an easy way out."

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes, finishing off their drinks. The stillness of the room was occasionally interrupted by muffled shouting, probably from Ultra Magnus.

"And the others?" Breakdown inquired.

"Being taken care of." said Bulkhead as he got up. The Wrecker collected the now empty cups, and made his way out of the room.

* * *

Peering out from behind the rock pile he was using for cover, Starscream saw well over two dozen Autobots firing at the small team of Decepticons. Clouds of dust were gathering from laser blasts breaking away at the rocky walls of the large cave system the were within, making visibility awfully low.

"I might have a plan, but you are not going like it!" Starscream shouted over the constant gunfire.

"You 'might' have a plan?!" Steve yelled back, ducking out of the way of some falling rocks that had come loose.

"Just do it, Starscream!" Megatron shouted over his fusion cannon, the loudest gun currently in use during the battle.

The red seeker, leaned out from his position of cover, and eyed up where the Autobots were fiing from. He could just about make out the upper catwalk where the cave opened up, to what he could only assume was their base of operations. He stretched out his right arm, and aimed it at one of the support beams for the enemy structure, and from his servo he fired what would normally not be used in such a confined space. His aim was true, and the missile roared down the length of the cave, causing a large explosion on impact. The cries of the Autobots echoed throughout the cavern, and the small team of Decepticons began their advance.

Moving as swiftly as they could over the piles of rock, dead or unconscious bodies, and twisted metal, Megatron and his team made it to the entrance. As the dust and debris started to settle, Airachnid noticed two figures coming at them, and closing in fast. "Look out!" she cried, as Brawn and Cliffjumper appeared, both slamming into Megatron and Starscream at full force. She managed to jump to the side in time, grabbing Steve with her extra limbs and pulling him to safety as well.

Unfortunately, she didn't look back at where she was going, and tripped over a pile of rocks, and the two fell to the ground. After a few moments of dazed confusion, they scrambled to their feet, only to see that Starscream had been knocked to the ground by Cliffjumper, and Megatron was giving a good thrashing to Brawn, the smaller, nigh invincible Autobot now covered in dents and scrapes. With a final blow right square in the face, Brawn went down.

Having seen his comrade go down to the mighty Decepticon leader, Cliffjumper transformed into a black 70's muscle car with red and orange flame decals, a set of faux bull horns on his hood. With a fury of smoke from his tyres, he took off into the main open cavern, running over a few still semi-conscious Autotroopers on his way.

Megatron reached down, his arm around Starscream's frame. The energon-covered seeker shook his head, blinking quickly to bring himself back to clarity. He watched as Steve and Airachnid ran up to them.

"Woah, you ok Starscream?" Steve asked.

"Yes yes, I am quite fine, thank you." the Vosian prince replied, a slight tremble in his voice. He straightened his posture a little, Megatron letting go seeing that his SIC was still in fighting condition, injured as he was.

…

When they finally stepped into the large open cavern that the Autobots had been using, what stood out to them first was the bright sunlight coming down from above, the same hole in the ground that Breakdown had fallen through. Looking around, they also saw what was clearly no ordinary structure lying in this open area. A large metal surface protruded from the far wall of the cave, a faded yet noticeable Decepticon symbol branded onto what was clearly the bow of an old spaceship.

Before anyone could react, a few dozen or so Autobots appeared up on the catwalks and rocky outcroppings of the mining/ salvage operation. A large figure emerged from some chamber of the ruined ship, moving to stand at the head of the bow. The fiery optics of Ultra Magnus stared down with delight at what was before him.

"Well well well," he oiled, "If it isn't Megatron and his band of merry fools."

"Ultra Magnus, I wouldn't have expected Optimus to let you so far out of his sight." Megatron retorted

"Oh trust me, he hasn't. So long as that pit-forsaken Praxian is around, I'm on a tight leash. Thankfully, he isn't here right now." Ultra Magnus said with a grin.

Megatron looked around, taking in the large, most likely mined out cavern.

"And what of this place? You Autobots certainly seem to have been busying yourselves."

Ultra Magnus chuckled, as if to mock the Decepticon leader. "Simply taking what you thought you could hide from us."

Whilst Megatron's distraction had been holding up, the other three were currently brainstorming their escape over the comms network.

/Are we certain this will work?/ Airachnid asked, not liking the sound of this plan so far.

/It is, as Shockwave would say, 'Logical.'/ came Starscream's response.

/Then let's just do this already, I'm not sure how long Megatron can keep 'Ultra Moron' busy./ Steve added. And he was right, Megatron's chit-chat with the enemy commander couldn't go on for much longer.

The large silver mech peered back at his top troops, who he knew could pull this off. The slight nod was all the signal they needed, and they all sprung into action.

Megatron swiftly raised his cannon to Ultra Magnus, the blast just barely missing as the Autobot dove to one side, letting it take out some poor bot stood behind him. Steve and Airachnid started blasting away, taking out each Autotrooper one by one. As they did, they ran for an opening in the ship, going in to find Breakdown. Starscream, even in his unwell state, managed himself to transform and take flight, gunning down the troops stationed on raised platform and the few Autobot fliers.

Ultra Magnus leaped down, slamming into the ground with great force, rattling Megatron a little, but the Decepticon leader managed to stabilize himself. Just in time, too, as Ultra Magnus lunged at him, with his right arm now transformed into a hooked blade. Megatron dodged, and swung his blade towards the Autobot, the two weapons grinding against each other. The two skilled warriors kept up their battle, whilst the mines around them continued their eruption of fighting. Tiring slowly, Megatron realised that this was going to take a while.

* * *

The cries of pain finally stopped, as Breakdown fell into stasis once more. Jazz wiped the away the energon with a spare rag as he stepped out of the interrogation room, his crimson bio-lights faintly illuminating the dim hallway. He strode towards the common room of this 'base' of theirs, mulling over what went down in that cell.

Stepping into the better lit common room, he saw Bulkhead and Wheeljack setting up a makeshift barricade at the doorway that led into the central corridor of the ship. Bulkhead simply nodded in acknowledgement of his arrival. The seasoned spy and saboteur reached into a cabinet, and pulled out a bottle of high-grade, and poured himself some in one of Ultra Magnus' personal glasses. He then rested himself down on one of the large 'couch' slabs that had been set up.

"So, that con' give anything up?" Wheeljack said, leaning a heavy rifle against the haphazardly constructed defences.

"Nah, that mech ain't givin up a thing." Jazz replied, taking a sip from his glass.

"So are you gonna just sit there, or are ya gonna help us prepare for those 'Cons outside?" Wheeljack asked, sitting himself on a chair next to the barrier.

Jazz grinned, saying, "You know I'm always prepared to throw down with the 'Cons, my mech. I'm sure the three of us will handle it like a piece of oil cake."

"Hopefully," Bulkhead grunted, as he practiced his wrecking-ball techniques on a training dummy in the far corner.

"You sure U.M. ain't gonna be mad at us for staying behind while he takes on Megs and the rest of them?" Jazz asked.

"Dont worry about it." Wheeljack said confidently, "Old Barnacle Bottom and Hoist are watching over the ship, just in case we need a quick get away. Not like we need this hole in the ground anymore anyways, now that we-"

"Shhh" Jazz shushed the Wrecker, placing a finger up to signify so. His impeccably toned sensors had picked up something coming their way, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

…

Now that they had fought off the few Autobots that had chased after them, Steve and Airachnid were keeping quiet in the old ship, trying not to let themselves get caught be some random Autobot passing by. Slowly maneuvering themselves down what seemed to be the main corridor of the old and decrepit ship, they spotted a light coming from a room that's door had been left open, but had seemingly been barricaded up. The sound of bots talking suddenly ceased, leaving the empty hallways deathly quiet.

Suddenly, a dark figure leaped over the barrier, and started wailing away at the two Decepticons. Jazz had first thought that he had heard other Autobots outside, but with the way it sounded, there was no mistaking it for somebody sneaking around.

Jazz had always been known as a one-bot-army, even without being a special build, simply having trained his skills for all his life to be one thing; the best at what he does.

Blades extended from his forearms, sticking out a good few feet from his hands, as he began to slice at the Decepticon intruders, his expression hidden behind his now activated battle mask. Thankfully for Steve, he had encountered the Autobots' top special operations mech many times during the war, and had always gotten his aft handed to him. There was no beating Jazz, you just simply prayed he'd find a more important target than you. The common belief amongst most Decepticons was that the only reason so few bots were at the top of the Autobots, was because they were the few who were quite possibly indestructible.

"Tell ya what 'con. Give it up, and we let you and your Stunticon friend go, he's already given us everything we need." Jazz grunted, deflecting Steve's punches.

"You always were awful at bluffing" Steve retorted sharply, as he landed a hit right in his opponents face. Jazz's visor cracked, an even brighter red glow coming from his optical sensors beneath.

…

Unfortunately for Airachnid, she had been left to deal with the two Wreckers on her own at this point. After leaping over the barrier, kicking Wheeljack down in the process, she dodged Bulkhead's rust towards her, narrowly missing his wrecking balls. She spun around just in time to see the big buy trip over Wheeljack.

"Fraggit Bulk, move!" He shouted, trying to shove Bulkhead off of him. Annoyed at this setback he started to fire sporadically at Airachnid. The rounds whizzed by the spider-former, a few lucky shots hitting her frame, as she maneuvered on her extra legs. Having spent his mag, Wheeljack now had to reload. Airachnid took this as the perfect opportunity to disable them for good. From her wrists and extra limbs, she wove a strong web around the two, made easier by the fact that Bulkhead had been knocked into statis, and by no surprise after hitting his head on the ground so had when he first went down.

She ran down the hall, checking every room, and hoping that Steve could hold of Jazz by himself. She raced through the ship, or what she could get access to, but no luck so far. Down at the end of a darkened hallway, she found the final room, and what she felt disgust and relief at what she found inside. Breakdown, strapped down in chains on some slab of metal, drops of dried energon over his frame.

But he was still venting, still alive. And it seemed like he was waking up.

The large mech looked up, taking notice of Airachnid using some kind of acid to burn through the chains. He rubbed his wrists of there soreness, and checked himself over.

"You good to walk? Might have to run, too." Airachnid asked, hurriedly helping Breakdown to his feet.

"Whatever it takes to get out of this scrap heap." He replied, as the two took off as fast as they could.

* * *

Megatron, if he was being honest, couldn't count the number of times he had fought against Ultra Magnus. Not because it was too many to be worthwhile, or too few to be insignificant, he would just rather not dignify such a cowardly and devious warrior the very thought of remembering such things. One thing he did always remember however, was how much of a pain if the aft he was.

The equally sized Ultra Magnus slammed into Megatron once more, and Megatron retaliated with a blade to his frame, right over his spark. On any other average soldier, of either faction, death would be instant. That's one thing he remembered, and hated, the most about Ultra Magnus. If Optimus' rumored intense 'reprimanding' had not gotten the oversized-glitch off-lined at this point, then surely, how could anyone?

Jumping back, Ultra Magnus got to a safe enough range once more, and transformed his arms into blasters, and began firing away at Megatron. The damage was minimal, but the impact was throwing the Decepticon leader off balance the longer this went on for. Then. he had an idea.

Megatron transformed, shifting himself into his new M1 Abrams tank mode, the best thing Fowler could find for his size and T-Cog costrictions. A major advantage of this mode, was his fusion cannon and turret merging into one singular, more powerful gun.

"Ha!, You look ridiculous in that primitive form, Megatron. I thought you could do better than that!" Ultra Magnus taunted, a laugh accompanying his maniacal grin.

Megatron had had enough, and charged him, his treads kicking up a cloud of dust. He aimed his turret, and fired right at Ultra Magnus, who was not laughing anymore. The glowing red fusion-enhanced shell struck Ultra Magnus, who was sent flying on impact, as the explosive was loud enough to be heard over the constant gunfire of other skirmishes.

He transformed again, just in time to see Steve and Airachnid with Breakdown.

"Are you alright, Breakdown?" Megatron asked, seeing as he was worse for ware.

"I'll manage, let's just get out of here." He replied.

"Best not to overstay our welcome I suppose." Megatron said.

/Starscream, come on. We are leaving./ Megatron said over the comms.

/Understood, sir./ Starscream replied, shooting down the last of his aerial opponents. He returned to ground, and they made a break for the exit before any Autobots could catch up with them.

As soon as they exited the cave, Megatron went for his comms once more.

/Soundwave, we require a ground bridge./

And as soon as the command was finished being spoken, the familiar green swirling portal opened up before them, and they made their way through.

* * *

After everyone had gotten through, Soundwave shut off the ground bridge. Breakdown was in a bad spot, energon still leaking in some places, leaving a trail of neon blue on the floor of the _Nemesis'_ bridge. Miko had to only look once at Breakdown to feel a sense of dread, of horror of what the Autobots were capable of. She had only met Skywarp long after his injuries. But the young humans were never going to be spared seeing the full damage of war on a galactic scale. She jumped down from where she was sitting with Jack and Raf, and rushed over to her recently-appointed guardian.

"Breakdown?..." She asked solemnly, now seeing the details of his wounds up close.

"Don't you worry about me, Miko. It'll take more than a few dents to take out this 'Con." Breakdown said, smiling reassuringly at his human charge.

He reached down, much to the protest of Airachnid saying how he shouldn't stress himself, and picked up Miko in his hands. Then, Airachnid led Breakdown to the medbay, where she was certain to get a stern talking to from his mate.

Starscream, still battered after the skirmish, went and sat down on what seemed to be a Cybertronian couch, tucked away in the back corner near to the human's elevated platform.

"Are you alright Starscream? You look like you should go see Knockout too." Raf spoke up, looking over the air commander. Starscream looked over to the human, who was sitting on the platform next to him.

"I'm quite alright, really. It certainly could have been worse. Besides, Breakdown is far more injured than myself, I'd rather not have the good doctor rushing to fix us both." Starscream said.

"So, there's only one medic out of everyone on board?" Jack asked, as he set aside home of his homework he had been working on.

"Well, not exactly. Breakdown, of course, is Knockout's medical assistant. I suppose at this point 'Nurse,' would be a better fitting title. Then there's Hook, one of the Constructicons. However, they are away with a team gathering resources, and I'd rather not call him back for something relatively minor." Starscream replied.

"Ya' know, Screamer here is a doctor, too." Skywarp butted in, flopping down next to his brother. "Well, not in the medical sense, but he was a chemist before the war. Ran his own research centre and everything." the purple seeker finished.

"Woah. Royalty, head of a scientific base, Air Commander. Just what haven't you been?" Raf asked curiously. Starscream just laughed nervously, never one to try and brag about his well accomplished life.

…

Megatron sat himself down in his chair once more, and started writing up a report of the mission for agent Fowler to review and pass on to his superiors, as well for the records. He knew it was a very boring task, but all that time he spent with Orion Pax and Ariel in the Hall of Records, he caught on to the idea of keeping track of everything. He was pulled out of his work a few minutes later, by a very energetic Steve, who was with Soundwave at his terminal.

"Sir, do we have good news for you!" Steve said cheerfully, as Megatron approached the station they had been working at.

"Mhm, and what might that be?" Megatron asked, looking over the clearly encrypted files on Soundwave's monitor.

"Well, when we were inside that old ship, and after I had taken care of Jazz, I found one of the Autobots' terminals and started going through them. I didn't have time to crack the code myself, so I downloaded most of them, and took pictures of whatever was left. As soon as Airachnid came by with Breakdown, I knew it was time to book it."

"And is there any indication as to what information these files hold, Soundwave?" Megatron asked, watching as the silent communications officer was fully patched in with his extra cables, typing away frantically.

It took a few minutes, but soon enough Soundwave's face screen lit up green, and a few beeps were heard from the monitor, as the encrypted Autobot files started to fall away, revealing plain Cybertronian text. And it was more than just that. Diagrams, blueprints, logistical strategies, even galactic star charts, all started to appear on screen. Plans for a technology that none of them had ever seen before.

"Soundwave, what is that?…" Steve asked, a little confused by the sheer amount of information there was to take in.

"Observation: Plans for large-scale quantum warp drive." Soundwave responded.

At the mention of the device, everyone finally knew what exactly these were plans for.

"Oh you have GOT to be fragging kidding me!" Skywarp replied, as he hastily limped over to the console, leaving his cane behind in his hurry.

"What's up with him?" Jack asked to Starscream.

"A quantum warp drive is what allowed Skywarp to perform his unique ability. No-one has ever been able to replicate such a system though." Starscream replied, taken aback as well by the Autobot intel.

Skywarp starting scanning past all the technical jargon that he didn't bother trying to understand, but taking notice of just how _similar_ these plans were to his own warp core.

"Hey, any clues on who made all this Sounders?" Skywarp said. Suddenly, he found himself being physically shushed, Soundwave pressive his left hand against his face.

"Command: Don't call me that. Observation: Plans are shown to be devised by Autobot scientist and weapons producer Brainstorm." Soundwave finished.

Skywarp was absolutely livid now, his usually chill demeanor turned into a fit of rage at the name of that accursed Autobot.

Megatron took notice of Skywarp's change in mood. He placed his large hand on his shoulder.

"Skywarp, please. Perhaps you should sit down before-" But it was too late. Skywarp slapped away Megatron's hand, giving the Decepticon leader a bit of a shock. Skywarp, doing exactly what Knockout had advised against, activated his thrusters, not transforming, and hovered swiftly out of the bridge, punching a large dent in the doorframe.

He didn't make it far however, as those on the bridge saw as he suddenly dropped out of the air, and sprawled out on the floor, writhing in pain.

Thundercracker, having been coming to the bridge to welcome back Starscream after his mission, watched as his brother hit the floor just as he came around the corner. He quickly rushed over to him, grabbing him in his arms. His optics were dark, he was clearly out cold, and his violet bio-lights were starting to dim out.

Starscream ran over to his brothers, helping Thundercracker lift him up, memories coming back to him of the medical emergency that befell them when they first arrived to Earth.

"Primus, what did you do that…" Starscream mumbled, as Thundercracker and himself carried him away to the medbay once again.

* * *

A crash was heard, along with a yelp, and fumes of smoke started to pour out from underneath the quantum warp core. "Frag-frag-frag-frag-frag." The grease and smoke covered scientist said quickly, crawling out from the service hatch in the side of his creation.

"Here, catch." The femme sitting nearby said, tossing over a fire extinguisher.

He caught it, barely, and began spraying it, putting out the large 'small' fire he had accidentally let happen.

Brainstorm took out a rag from his subspace, and wiped down the grime from his dark purplish-blue paintwork, even polishing his face mask some. Exhausted from a day of hard work, he sat himself down at the worktable in the middle of the engine room of the _Lost Light_. Sitting across from him was Nautica, painted in yellow with streaks of white and purple, and red optics.

She slid a small flask of engex over to him, and taking off his facemask, he graciously took a swig or two from. Afterwards, he passed the flask back to his fellow scientist.

"I'm sure we can get it fixed one of these days." Nautica said reassuringly, placing a hand on Brainstorm's. The two of them still looking over the still smoking mess.

"I know," he replied, "but, slaggit, at the rate Magnus is scavenging resources from this Pit of a planet, it might be years before we can generate enough power to even jump-start the warp drive."

"So long as the Decepticons keep messing up his operations planetside, it will certainly take longer than we hoped."

Brainstorm, in a not too unusual random act of genius stood up, and started pacing around the quantum warp drive, examining all its components.

"Of course, it just might work!" He said cheerfully.

He practically ealped back over to Nautica, and taking her hands, helped her up and started to semi-dance around with her. "It's so simple, I dont get why we didn't think of it sooner!"

Nautica laughed, no stranger to Brainstorm's unusual outbursts such as this one.

"And what might that be?" She asked, always curious of what went on in that computing-module of his.

"We've been thinking too big. But to truly get the bigger picture, we have to think smaller." Brainstorm said, hastily running calculations in his head.

"If we can reproduce it on a smaller scale, it wouldn't take up as much to build and power it." he continued, as he raced over to the worktable, packing up his supplies, and re-cuffing his briefcase to his left wrist.

"Come on, science waits for no-bot!" Brainstorm cried, as he dashed out of the engine room, Nautica casing after him.


	7. Chapter 6: Contact Part 4

**A/N: This chapter jumps perspectives more than usual, but it helps with moving things along. And to clarify, 'Contact' is like the Darkness Rising mini-series for this fic, so back to more one chapter stories for a while after part 5. As always, feedback is appreciated!**

* * *

Breakdown had been lying on one of the medical berths for a while now, as Knockout looked him over. Miko stood close to him on the small table used mostly for storing equipment next to the berth.

"So, how many 'Bots did you take down? Ten? Twenty!?" Miko asked excitedly, trying to keep her guardian in a good mood.

Breakdown mustered his energy to laugh. "None kiddo. The Autobots had the rest of the team to deal with."

"That they certainly did." Airachnid chimed in, from a webbing hammock she had woven into one of the medbay corners.

"You'd better clean that off when your done!" Knockout said, pointing to her from across the medbay as he put away the scanners had had used to examine his injured mate.

"I did see some action though. They way Airachnid and Steve took them down was a sight to witness. And I dealt with a certain infamous Autobot, by the name of Jazz-"

"Knockout!" cried the ever-familiar voice of Starscream, as he and Thundercracker burst through the doors of the medmay carrying the limp body of Skywarp between them. Knockout hastily cleared off the nearest medical berth, and ushered them to place Skywarp down onto it.

"What the frag happened to him?" the blue medic asked, as he hooked the unconscious seeker up to vital support systems.

"I don't know." Starscream replied blankly. "We were going over Autobot intel we recovered during the mission, and he got angry, unreasonable so, and stormed out. Next thing we know, he's lying on the floor in the state he's in now."

"Let me guess, he tried his luck and _flew_, didn't he?" Knockout asked annoyedly, going over Skywarp with his scanner.

"Yeah, that's what I saw at least." Thundercracker said, taking a seat. Unlike Starscream, he had the sense of mind to get out of the way whilst the good doctor was operating.

"Figures," Knockout mumbled to himself, as he set to work trying to save the seeker laid out before him.

* * *

It had been a rough few hours in the medical bay that evening, as Knockout finally began to clean up the various energon-covered operating tools strewn about. It was dumb luck, really, that Skywarp was even still alive. A Spark Attack is what the problem was, brought on by a combination of high energon pressure from his brief fit of rage, and the overall strain caused by simply flying.

Hook, who had been called back to help due to the severity of Skywarp's condition, was busy monitoring the various life support system that were hooked up to the patient. Mainly because he knew them better than anyone, having designed many new medical systems during the war, as to better the chances of saving the lives of his fellow Decepticons. And with how few there were left, he wasn't about to lose another.

Breakdown had tried to help out, but Knockout was quick to shoot down the idea. And thus, the large orange mech was currently passed out asleep on one of the spare medical berths.

"I just don't get it, Knockout." Hook said, breaking the stillness of the room. "Skywarp has a medical record to rival that of Megatron and Starscream, and no offence to him, but it's a miracle he's stayed online this long."

Knockout strode over from where he had been working, taking a seat next to his fellow medic.

"Well, from what little I've seen of his records, he has a very unorthodox fighting style."

"Fighting style? Ha! More like he's in some life-or-death prank war really. One second ya see him, the next he's somehow planted a grenade to your back. Or teleported you up into the air, if your unlucky enough to be a grounder Autobot."

"Really?" Knockout said, taken aback. He looked to the comatose seeker before him, having rarely seen him in combat before.

"Yeah, really. He's always so nice and jovial, I never would've believed it hadn't I witnessed it with my own two optics."

A sudden beeping came from one of the life support machines

…

Currently, on the other end of the warship, Megatron had called on the available members of his current high command. That being Starscream, Thundercracker, Soundwave, Steve, Airachnid, Motormaster and Barricade. The group of seasoned warriors had gathered on the bridge, as to information that had been gathered on their raid of the Autobot's mine.

Soundwave was the one projecting different diagrams and images up onto the main monitor, showing off the various inventions and tactical documents that had been found, whilst Megatron spoke for the mostly silent mech.

"And here we can see clearly plans of attack for various human military compounds scattered across the globe. It would appear that the Autobots have been up to no good on this planet longer than we had anticipated."

"And it would explain why I haven't caught word of these raids from Fowler. Almost all of these have been conducted with some serious stealth." Barricade said.

"Astute observation." Megatron continued. "However, that is about to change. We also managed to decypher future plans on military installations and research labs, however dates are not known."

"So let's get ready for when they do show their ugly faceplates again!" Steve chimed in, clearly ready to take action against the enemy.

"Don't worry ya' self there Steve, those Auto-fools won't know what hit 'em." Motormaster said, a smug yet jovial grin plastered across his face.

Before anyone else could speak, it was Soundwave who went next.

"Decryption: Incomplete. Further time is needed." the communications officer spoke.

"And then what?"

The question came not from one of the gathered Decepticons, but from Jack, who along with Raf and Miko had yet to be returned home. Megatron looked to them, with a face of uncertainty upon realising what the young human meant.

"I do not yet know for certain what will become of us should we somehow stop the Autobots' attacks on your world, but I do know that even if we can repair the Nemesis, we will not abandon a world until we can be certain that the Autobot threat here has been eliminated." Megatron said.

It was then that the silver mech noted his internal chronometer, and took notice of just how late in the day it had gotten.

"My apologies, I hadn't realised how late it had gotten. Perhaps it would be best if you were escorted back to your homes now." Megatron continued, gesturing to Steve and Airachnid, who in turn picked up their human charges.

"Don't worry, I can take you back Miko." Barricade said stepping over to pick her up in his large black hands.

"Police escort? Awesome! Host parents are gonna freak!" Miko said gleefully, as the three Decepticons and humans left the bridge.

"Observation: Discontinue meeting for the night." Soundwave spoke up over the silence.

"Indeed… Everybody get some rest, there's no telling when the Autobots shall strike again." Megatron stated, as he wandered back over to his seat whilst everyone else, aside from Soundwave, left the bridge to go about their evenings.

Megatron once again turned to filling out his report for agent Fowler with the news of future attacks on important human military installations, and double checking with Soundwave that a set date of the plans were not given. His mind eventually began to wander, and he thought about just how little they knew so far from the gathered intel. No idea on how many troops they had, where they could be hiding, or even how long they had been on Earth for. Hell, had they been on the planet before even the scouting team arrived?

With a heavy sigh, he sent out his report. He left the bridge, after a quick goodbye to Soundwave, and went to his quarters for a good long rest.

* * *

"And tell me, what else did you see in this dream?"

Bumblebee flickered open his optics, looking towards the figure who had asked. He had had them closed as to better remember the nightmares, something he would never do of his own accord, but Rung had always been persistent in getting as many details as he could out of the black and yellow mech, along with all of his patients onboard the _Lost Light_.

***I… I saw w-what came after the incident*** Bumblebee sputtered, ***I had been in stasis for who knows how many hours, b-before Ratchet found me there…***

Rung gave a polite nod in understanding, "And was this the end of the dream?" The silver and redish-orange mech asked.

Bumblebee gave a slight nod, and showed a growing look of discomfort in the topic.

"Well, considering how you've never made it all the way through the events when you dream, I'd say your making excellent progress." Rung said, placing a hand on Bumblebee's shoulder reassuringly.

The timer on his wrist-bound chronometer went off, indicating the end of the session.

"We seem to be out of time. Any questions before you go?"

***No, thank you. Makes me feel like one day, I might be back to the way I was.*** Bumblee whirred, his speech less impaired from having managed his emotions. With that, the young Autobot strode out into the hallway, and made a b-line for where he had agreed to meet up with a certain group of mechs.

After a few minutes of walking, and having to go up a few levels on the ship, he finally reached the set of doors he was looking for, and stepped on in.

_Swerve's_ was the usual level of dingy that it always was, the lights dimmed as everybody chatted amongst themselves. It was packed this evening, Bumblebee spotting many familiar faces from the ship's voyages over the years. The numerous members of the crew were probably only there either to chat with shipmates and friends, or because their own supply of booze had run dry.

Working his way through the small crowd of bots, the occasional greeting exchanged between him and someone, he saw just who he had been looking for. Tucked away in the far back corner of the bar, was Rodimus and Prowl sat across each other in a boothe. What he hadn't expected, was to see Chromedome of all mechs standing next to them, the dark green mnemosurgeon whispering something to them.

As Bumblebee was about to get closer, his attention was grabbed when he heard somebody say his name. Looking over to where he thought it had come from, he saw the short blue barkeep who the place was named after.

Swerve slid a glass of glowing orange liquid over as soon as Bumblebee reached the bar. A sweet, non-alcoholic concoction the gruff bartender had mixed up for him the first time they met.

"Your usual. Ya' seem tense, kid." Swerve said, his rough voice distinct in the many voices in the bar.

***Thanks.*** Bumblebee said. As he turned his head to look back at boothe, Chromedome had seemingly vanished without a trace. The black and yellow scout retracted his mouthguard, and took a sip from his drink as he walked over to the back of the bar.

As he reached it, his brother waved as if he was trying to get his attention from across the room.

"Hey Bee, thanks for joining us." Rodimus said as the bot in question took a seat next to him.

"Good, now that you're both here, let's cut to the chase. I have some information Optimus wanted me to pass on to you both." Prowl said. Bumblebee and Rodimus listened intently, knowing that whatever their sire had planned was important.

"He has informed me that plans for a coup have been found on Ultra Magnus' estate during a raid by the Elite Guard within the past few days."

The two brothers were taken aback. Everybot on Cybertron, whether Autobot or Decepticon knew about Ultra Magnus' ambitions, but nobody would have ever thought he would try and usurp a _Prime_ of all things.

***Uh.. Are you sure this is the best place to tell us?*** Bumblebee beeped, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone had been paying attention. That was when he realised how quiet it had been, and was shocked at how the bar was empty for everyone other than them.

"Because I told Swerve to clear the place out the moment you took a seat." Prowl replied, his stern look unwavering.

"I believe that your sire's direct quote on the matter was, 'Make that incompetent fraghead pay, but dont let on that we know what he's up to.' Understandable, considering there's no way for any of his own co-conspirators to reach him, as only you, Rodimus and myself have access to galactic comms."

"Any clue on if the Wreckers are in on it?" Rodimus asked.

"Unlikely, but not out of the question yet. They resent him for replacing Impactor after his death instead of letting Springer take charge. However, they seem to respect him on some level."

***Dirty work attracts the dirty, that's for sure.*** Bumblebee buzzed, ***Nothing against Bulk or Jackie, but they don't have the cleanest records either.***

"Exactly why I will be keeping an optic on those two as well. As for now, we can only wait and see what Magnus' next move is." Prowl said, as he abruptly stood up from the boothe.

The black and gray police-bot tossed some shanix on the counter, knowing Swerve would collect it eventually, and walked out of the bar back to his office.

* * *

Megatron had only recently arisen from a night of deep recharge, and after he had cleaned off and dusted the shelves in his quarters, he went about the grueling task of cleaning his fusion cannon, the large black cylinder always a pain to maintain. He had always been able to take it to the closest Decepticon armorer or weaponsmith of some sort back Cybertron, but in the waning days of the war, he had realised that a day would come when only he would be able to get the job done.

After a good hour of disassembling, cleaning, and then reassembling, he attached it to his right arm via a slotting mechanism, and headed off to the galley for his morning cube of energon. At this time, it was about 6:00 in the morning for Earth time, so he was one of the few bots up at this hour. The walk there was quiet and uneventful, passing by the occasional early-morning guard.

Megatron walked into the galley, and it was, expectedly, empty. He picked up a cube from the drying rack labeled as 'clean', and proceeded to pour the warm blue liquid into his glass. He seated himself down, and took in the calmness of the early morning, looking out one of the windows as the sun slowly started to rise.

His thoughts were interrupted, as Soundwave pinged him over the comms, the message simply saying, 'You are needed on the bridge.'

…

As Megatron strode past the door onto the bridge, he noticed that not only was soundwave hooked in with all of his tentacle-like cables, but that his deployers were also busying themselves at the various terminals.

"Good morning, Megatron." Ravage purred, as the yellow and black spotted cat-bot uncurled himself from around Soundwave's pedes.

"Yeah, heya boss." Frenzy said from where he was typing away at one of the consoles.

"Yes, good morning to you all." Megatron said, walking over to where Soundwave stood unmoving, "Tell me Soundwave, what have you uncovered that requires my immediate presence here?"

"Operation: Decryption, is successful. Autobot Intelligence: fully revealed." Soundwave said. It may have been difficult to hear over the heavily synthesized voice, but Megatron had known the mostly silent mech long enough to hear the faint tremble of tiredness.

Then, on both the terminal monitor and Soundwave's mask screen, rows upon rows of plain Cybertronian text appeared.

"Are those… coordinates?"

"Affirmative. Autobot base: Located."

…

With the revelations of the final parts of the encrypted Autobot intel, Megatron had ordered all troops to begin preparations for the mission to come. How exactly they were going to get themselves up to the moon in order to conduct this attack was something he was currently ironing out. Luckily for him, he had some of the best minds of Cybertron at his disposal.

"Are you crazy?!" Knockout, not actually being from Cybertron, was starting to doubt the sanity of not only Megatron, but the surrounding Constructicons as well.

"Only a little, but that's besides the point." Mixmaster said, the chemist trying his best to calm the now heated discussion.

"No, this idea is out of the question! We can't risk it." The blue medic retorted, not giving an inch, and not caring who saw his mini-tantrum.

"It's the only fraggin' option we have without putting the whole ship back together and making it fly." Bonecrusher said.

"Do you realise just how much energy it takes to power a groundbridge? We would practically deplete our stockpile of energon trying to bridge you to the MOON of all places!" Knockout shouted back.

"Knock, settle down." Breakdown said, placing a hand on his mate's shoulder from where they were sitting on the bridge.

"Other energon sources: Available. Earth: rich in deposits." Soundwave said from across the bridge.

Megatron sighed, and turned to the head of the Constructicons.

"Scrapper, do you think the proper reconfigurations could be made to the groundbrdide system to reach that far?"

"Well, its over 225,000 miles away, and that's one tall order." the engineer said, thinking up the modifications in his head. "If you can supply the energy, which I'm sure we have, I can have you on the moon by tonight. It'll be right overhead, so a more-or-less straight shot at it."

"Then it's settled. Work with Soundwave on this, he knows the bridge systems better than anyone. Get to it." Megatron said as he sat down in his command chair.

'This is going to be a long day,' he thought to himself.

…

"So, your really going to the moon?" Jack asked, as Airachnid drove him to base that late Sunday morning. He had been a little stunned at the idea, but from what he had seen of Megatron so far, he really would go to those lengths to save people.

"If only we had a ship to get us there. The Constructicons have been diverting power to the bridge network all morning. Wouldn't be surprised if most of the hall lights are out by now."

…

Airachnid's assumption had ended up being correct, as she had to activate her headlights just to see through the dark corridors of the warship, the dark bluish-purple colors of the ship making it ever more difficult. It wasn't until they reached the bridge that there was enough light coming off of the console screens and sunlight coming in through the large frontal window that they could see, although just so.

Airachnid set Jack down on the human's raised platform, where Miko and Raf already were. The young teen could tell that something was up, because Miko was smiling while doing homework of all things.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Jack asked as he sat down besides them on the beat-up sofa they had.

"Not much, only just being amazing at school work!" Miko said excitedly.

"Ok… who are you, and what have you done with Miko?" Jack asked jokingly.

"A little incentivising, that's all." Raf said, looking up from his laptop, almost as engrossed in what he had been doing as Soundwave was with his work. "I told Miko that for every question I asked her that she got right, I'd let her play me in a round of my racing game," Raf finished.

"Is that really all it took?" said Jack.

"That and he needed help with his more artistic assignments, so it's one of those, uh.."

"Symbiotic relationships. Where two or more organisms benefit from working together." Raf said, quick to assist in Miko's vocabulary.

And so, the three of them got to whatever assignment their teachers were dreary enough to assign for them over the weekend. However, it was not the most easy task to focus on, as all around the bridge, Decepticons were carrying out the somewhat absurd plan of bridging to the moon.

"This… is strange. It just all seems so sudden." Jack said, gazing around the room.

"Well, duh. A couple days ago, we were living normal lives. Now we get to hang with giant alien car robots!" Miko exclaimed.

…

The hours of the day marched on quickly, as the ship's crew were hard at work getting the groundbridge ready for space travel under the command of the Constructicons, who themselves had been filling up the ship's reactors to the maximum energy storage, making sure they had enough power to bridge the strike team to the moon then back again. Due to the high energy requirements, mining teams had been sent out to extract whatever scraps of Energon they could recover from the Autobots' abandoned mine, only to find that there was still plenty energon crystals left over.

"Even with all of this, will it be enough?" Steve asked, as he watched the mining operation, as other combat vehicons were dotted around incase the Autobots detected them in their old stomping grounds.

"Not to worry. All of Scrapper's and Soundwave's calculations plan out as good as we can hope for." Mixmaster replied, as his Cement Mixer form laid down a nearly instant-drying concrete path for the miners to better traverse the rough, battle torn mines.

"That's not as comforting as hearing them as 'perfect.'"

"Trust me, there aint such a thing as perfect, but we can slagging well try and get close enough."

…

As evening began to fall, and then giving way to darkness of night, the Decepticons' target rose above them, the pale glowing orb of the moon. By now, everything was in place, and it was mere minutes until the great operation would begin.

"Alright everybot, I hope ya' have everything in order, 'cause we won't get a second shot at this!" Motormaster shouted back to the other Combaticons and the dozen or so vehicon troopers that followed them as they jogged/ marched their way to the main cargo hold, the only place large enough to contain the number of bots going on the mission. Breakdown had been cleared for combat already, as the injuries were not too severe, and the need for every member of their team to combine was always a necessity.

Once they arrived in the large room, they saw Steve with his other top Vehicon commandos, along with basic troopers. They also saw Thundercracker and Dirge with a good three dozen eradicons, their bright silver frames ever-so recognizable. Up in front stood Starscream, Airachnid, and Megatron, who was currently giving his final words of encouragement before the portal opened.

"-and if we are to fall this night, then know that countless other mechs and femmes shall heed the call, and take up arms against the dreaded Autobots. But, if we are to be successful in this great endeavor of ours, then we shall be ever so closer to rising above Optimus Prime's tyranny!"

The gathered soldiers gave out a cheer, giving their leader a roaring applause. Even after so many years of war, it was clear to anyone that the Decepticons would follow Megatron to the bitter end.

/Soundwave, are we ready?/ Megatron called out over the comms systems.

/Bridge systems: functional. Ready on your command./ Soundwave responded.

Megatron turned to where the bridge would open. They would only have mere moments to get everyone through, and they would have to give it time before enough energy could be recharged before the second opening to bring them back down to Earth.

/Open the grou- ,space bridge, Soundwave/ Megatron commanded.

And before the last letter slipped through the comms, the whirling green portal appeared before them.

"Decepticons!" Megatron called back to his small army, "Transform, and Rise Up!"


	8. Chapter 7: Contact Part 5

**A/N: Bit of a longer chapter than usual, but I feel it works out well. Besides, there's plenty of action and story packed into this one, so enjoy!**

* * *

The stillness of the Autobot warship, the _Lost Light_, had been abruptly shattered when all alarms on every deck of the ship screamed to life. The Autobots barely had time to prepare, but they were saved a few minutes by the quick activation of the exterior turrets, firing away at the encroaching Decepticon forces. The ship itself had been nestled against the ridge of one of the many craters upon the Earth's moon, and the adversaries quickly took advantage of this, setting up themselves along the gray rocky landscape.

The battle outside may have been a world of chaos, as the ship's defences and dozens of Autotroopers tried to hold back the Decepticons, but it was eerily quiet out in the vacuum of space, the only sound heard being transmitted over comms systems. Along with such limited range of communications, Megatron and Soundwave had agreed that a bridge to return them to Earth would appear in the same location 30 minutes after they arrived on the moon, giving the intense systems enough time to recharge, along with plenty of room for error as to not overdo it.

/We are breaking through, keep up the heavy fire and we can push them back to the ship!/ Starscream called out over the comms, as Thundercracker, Dirge, and himself, along with the flier Vehicons, were supplying aerial support to the troops on the ground. They were also doing well to take out any fliers the Autobots threw at them, swiftly taking them out of the sky whenever one was sent out to engage them. The seekers flipped back around, coming in for another run at the ship itself. Leveling themselves out, they let loose a barrage of missiles, each striking true at their target.

Around the other side of the ship, in what turned out to be a very successful attempt to split the Autobot forces, Menasor was tearing through the Autobot ranks like they were nothing, the Stunticon gestalt making quick work of any and all who dared to try and bring them down. In addition, it has managed to get in a few good blows at the ship's defensive armaments as well, and had even teared off some of the outer hull plating, an act that caused various sections of the ship to lose pressurization.

In another position, a group of tank Vehicons were positioning themselves behind Steve's squadron thats were trying desperately to push through the Autobot lines, and reach the airlock to breach the ship. The tank Vehicon at the front of this team, a dark red femme, was commanding them.

/Group 1, take out the ship's defensive armaments. Group 2, fire on the Autobot ground forces./ she commanded, as they all started to aim their large cannons towards the targeted areas. Had there been an atmosphere it hear it, it would have made any unprepared bystanders deaf in an instant, as the first volley of heavy artillery shells were fired off. The first to hit was group 1's attack, that took out well over half of the ship's defensives, and causing major damage to the outer hull overall. The second group's attack, being on a large spread of targets rather than specifics, had much better accuracy, taking out almost all of the Autotrooper forces.

Steve turned back to look at his compatriot up on the ridge, giving her a thumbs up.

/Nice shooting, Sammy./ Steve said over comms.

/Don't thank me yet. You still have to get inside that ship./ Sammy replied.

Now, with the way cleared and the ship's defensive offline and aerial troops taken out, the small army of Decepticons charged on through what little resistance there was between them and getting onboard the _Lost Light_. Any of the Autobots that hadn't been gunned down at this point started to retreat back to the ship, hoping beyond all hope that they could hold back the Decepticon forces for any longer.

However, such hope was lost, as they were all knocked down or shot as their enemy reached the airlock, having spent a solid 10 minutes of what precious time they had just to reach it. Megatron, having taken the lead position of the boarding party, took a quick glance over the airlock controls, and realised he was out of his depth on such high-security mechanisms.

Luckily for him, he had brought with him one of the best spies and hackers at the Decepticon's disposal.

/Ravage, would you be so kind as to get this door open?/ Megatron asked, as the sly, spotted jaguar-bot jumped up to the control panel, and transformed his front paws into computer interfacing tools, and got to work.

* * *

"What do you mean they are at the airlock already? Can't any of our troopers hold them back?" Ultra Magnus shouted at Rodimus, who was currently rushing to where the Decepticons were currently breaking in through, after having gone down to the armory with other Autobots and gearing up for the currently ongoing battle.

"What do you expect from a bunch of basic troopers, Magnus?" Rodimus retorted, only glancing at him in passing. "It's not like we have the Elite Guard at our disposal out here. And besides, scanners show that over 50% of the poor glitches that we sent outside survived, so its not a total loss, just yet anyways."

"Yet?!" Ultra Magnus cried indignantly.

Rodimus, choosing to ignore the angered rambling that Ultra Magnus has currently started on, was swift to change the subject, not only for his sake, but that of all the annoyed sliders that had been following them.

"I'm just wondering, how did they even find where we are? Pit, I guess the moon Isn't that far of a stretch to make on their own, but a bridge to exact coordinates?"

"Well of course those fraggers found us, they must have taken the information from the mining operation-" Ultra Magnus' optics went wide, as he realised what he had revealed in his state of rage.

Rodimus merely kept a death glare on him for a few moments, saying, "I'll deal with your failings later. Right now, I want these 'Cons off my ship!"

That was when the shooting started, as blaster fire started buzzing on by them from further down the corridor. "Take cover!" Rodimus shouted, pushing a few other Autobots up against the walls of the large hallways. He peered out from the small alcove of cover he had, taking note of just how many Decepticons had managed to get on board. And standing towards the front of their forces, was the silverish-gray mech he knew all too well.

…

Megatron would be lying if he said he didn't have his doubts about this mission at first. However, given the circumstances, and the possibility of this being their only shot at this spur-of-the-moment, hairbrained scheme of Scrapper's, it was the best option they had.

"Everyone fan out! Ravage, search for whatever lab they have this quantum drive in."

"Copy that, sir." Ravage purred, as he jumped up to where he saw a vent, and crawled in.

"Airachnid, see if you can't push them back from this position. Steve, your with me. And bring some of your troops, we will need the extra muscle." Megatron said, as he took off down the nearest hallway.

"Ok, so. What exactly are we after?" Steve asked, having gotten some Vehicons to come along with them.

"We are searching for their cargo bay. If we can cripple them further by taking as much of their energon stores as we can, we will not need to worry as much about them. However…"

"...It's going to make them even more aggressive when it comes to hunting for the stuff back down planetside." Steve finished, figuring out as to where Megatron was going with his plan.

"Unfortunately, yes. But so long as we can wound them however we can, it would be well worth the effort." Megatron said, as they continued on their rush to find whatever they could, and use it to sabotage the Autobots.

…

Airachnid's forces were holding up surprisingly well, given that they were severely outnumbered and outgunned. The severity of the continued Decepticon attacks on the outside of the ship had the enemy rushing to deal with the multiple fronts that had opened up in such a short span of time. Noticing an increase in Autobot troops, the spiderbot quickly fashioned herself a slingshot out of her webbing. She loaded a small orb of her poison, and aimed right for the biggest 'bot she could find.

Unfortunately for Ultra Magnus, that happened to be him at the moment. The blob of acidic poison struck him in his right shoulder, forcing his cannon to transform back into his hand due to how severe the pain was.

"Fragging beast… I'll show you!" Ultra Magnus shouted, yet his voice still trembled in pain. He reached around to his back with his good arm, and grabbed hold of his large silver and purple war hammer. Any bot that was smaller or weaker than himself would of had to use both hands to wield such a weapon, however after millennia of practice, it became just as easy to use with one hand instead of two.

He leaped out from behind cover, and started swinging wildly at any Decepticons within range, dealing heavy blows, and knocking down many of the attackers. This simple tactic was forcing the Decepticons back, but not before Airachnid could pull off one last trick.

Timing her moves perfectly, she leapt past and over the frontline troops, and got up to Ultra Magnus. Working swiftly, she began to spin webs around him as she continuously dodged his attempted strikes at her. To keep him in his blind rage, she occasionally spewed more of her acidic venom onto him.

"Hold still, you miserable little glitch!" He shouted out at her, as he brought down his hammer with a heavy attack. Out of a stroke of bad luck for Airachnid, she wasn't fast enough to dodge, and the hammer slammed right into her back, sending her to the ground.

Ultra Magnus started to pull the webbing off of his frame, and got up close to the spider-formed laying before him.

"Know your place, Decepticon." Ultra Magnus said, as he lifted up his hammer for a final blow. Right as he was about to bring it down, a shot struck him right in his hand, forcing him to drop his warhammer.

Before the Autobot SIC could react, Motormaster had planted his fist firmly into his faceplates, knocking him against a wall. The Stunticon leader never gave up his unrelenting attack until Breakdown quickly rushed over as well, and helped Airachnid up. Once he was satisfied with the damage he had done to Ultra Magnus, the three got back out of the way of Autobot fire.

"Thanks for the save." Airachnid said with a groan, trying her best to work through the pain.

"Not a thing to it!" Motormaster said, as he picked back up his blaster, and went back to firing at the Autobots

This stalemate battle would continue for as long as it took for Megatron, Steve and Ravage to complete their end of the mission.

* * *

"Ok, whos next?" Steve said, as another truck-former Vehicon came up, and the process of loading up energon cubes into the truck bed commenced once again. At this point, about a dozen or so Vehicons had been loaded up with as many of the cubes as they could, which for the smaller troops wasn't that much, but Megatron was content in their operation so far.

"Any idea how much longer we have Megatron?" Steve asked his commander.

The mech in question checked over his internal chronometer, having moved that system to a priority, as well as setting a 30-minute timer for the window they had.

"We have 10 minutes left before the bride back to the Nemesis is open. I'll call the troops to fall back at the 5 minute mark, should leave us plenty of time to regroup at the exit point." Megatron replied.

Just then, he received a ping over his commlink.

/Tell me Ravage, do you have good news?/ he asked the jaguar-bot who had contacted him.

/Yes sir,/ Ravage said over the comms, /Something you are going to want to see.../

* * *

Chromdome sat tiredly at a small, cramped desk in the corner of the bottom-most room of the ship. It was cramped, of course, as it wasn't even supposed to be there. Rodimus and Prowl had haphazardly given him this assignment to do. Sure, it wasn't unheard of for Decepticons to be brainwashed into fighting for the Autobot cause, but this mech? For once, he thought he would be the one flipping a table at the very mention of the infamous 'Con. He subpaced the datapad he had been writing up his usual reports on to hand off to Prowl, and made his way towards the hatch.

He looked back one last time at his patient, hoping that he wouldn't have to dive into his processor for much longer. He went up the steps, and typed in the code to get out. That was when he noticed something was off. Only Prowl and Rodimus knew of this secret hatch at the bottom of the ship, and the silhouettes he saw where not only not theirs, but there was more than just two mechs stood before him.

He didn't know who to comm. Rewind, to say final goodbyes to his loved one, or Prowl about the dire situation that was Megatron and his team finding the mighty Phase-Sixer chained up in their basement. His inaction was the last thing he thought about, as he was swiftly knocked out by some blue and white Vehicon he didn't recognize.

"Excellent move, Steve." Megatron commented.

"Eh, he wasn't a threat. No point in off-lining more bots than we have to." Steve replied.

The two Decepticon warriors made their way down the hatch, Megatron just barely fitting through, and found a dim chamber, barely lit in red lights.

Steve found a console, and turned the brightness of the room's light up to full. They were both shocked by what they saw.

"Megatron…" the figure said, delighted to see his leader once again, but clearly drained of any energy.

"Is… is that really…" Steve stammered, shocked at who they had found

"Yes," Megatron said, equally amazed. "It really is Overlord."

* * *

The conflict had worsened at this point, the Decepticons nearly pushed back to the hallway where they had entered into the ship from. Ultra Magnus had recovered, and was back to pounding away and beating down any Decepticon that came close. Rodimus, thinking tactically, had kept back a bit, picking off Decepticons with well-placed rifle shots.

That was when his comm pinged.

And another one.

And a dozen more.

The constant notification got to him, and he hid back behind some cover, and opened up a line who the most recent ping was from.

/Pipes, what a frag is going on? I've gotten at least 12 pings in under a minute!/

/It's bad, real bad!/ he cut out for a second, but Rodimus could hear blaster fire on the other end. /The Decepticons, they… they have a Phase-Sixer with them! Its Overlord, he, he's../ the line went dead, and Rodimus' spark sunk. He head dreaded the very idea of Overlord getting out, but in the midst of a full Decepticon army attacking their warship?

He felt strange. He then put his finger on it; he was going numb. He thought that today was one of the worst days of his life, second to the death of his carrier. He could see and hear the other Autobots still around him, but he didn't really notice them. He couldn't bear to think about what Overlord's escape to do to his brother. Pit, he hadn't even considered him.

'What have I done.' he thought to himself. 'I'm so sorry Bee…'

…

Pipes, along with every other Autobot, was running for their lives at this point. Had it been one of the famed Decepticon commanders, such as Tankor, Strika, Deathsaurus, and Starscream, or maybe even Megatron himself, they would have stood their ground.

But Overlord was more than some famed general. He was a one-'Con army that no force had ever been able to bring down without some kind of miracle. He had managed to liberate countless worlds from the Autobot Empire, and nothing in the Allspark or the Pit could stop that mech's mission.

Overlord continued his unremorseful assault, despite Megatron's request that he try and inflict as little deaths as possible. So he tried doing just that, aiming for non-vital yet crippling areas of the Autobots' bodies, tossing grenades and explosives into rooms of varying importance, and making sure he didn't stop moving.

Pipes had come to terms with his seemingly inevitable demise, but he'd be slagged if he was killed because he was at the back of the pack of fleeing Autobots. He had survived Decepticon-Day of all things, and he wasn't about to go and let Overlord finish the job. Some brave, or maybe foolish Autobots stayed behind, and fired every weapon they had at the Phase-Sixer.

Having ran down a hallway off to the side. He hid behind an outcropping. Moments later, he watched as Overlord survived taking a rocket-launcher to the head, and subsequently shot the poor bot who tried that right through the spark. He hid still a few more moments, and content that Overlord had passed, he ran off down the hallway he had hid in. After a time, he caught up with another group of soldiers at a 4-way junction. Several barricades had been set up, and many of the Autobots' optics were alight with rage, clearly itching for a fight.

In the crowd, he spotted a familiar face, and went up to them. Bumblebee was clearly trying to make himself as small as possible, and some troops had even formed around him as if they were his personal guards. They stepped aside, knowing that Pipes had served in Bumblebee's scouting outfit for most of their time in the war. He dark green mech sat himself beside who had considered to be an old friend, even though they were relatively young. Not knowing what else to do, he simply placed a hand on Bumblebee's shoulder, knowing that he could never fully understand just what this war's toll was on the black and yellow scout's psyche.

Then a shout was heard. And blaster fire rang out through the halls of the ship, meaning one thing; Overlord had found them.

"Come on, Bee, we gotta get you out of here. You aren't cleared for combat yet." Pipes said, dragging Bumblebee to his pedes. Protected by the few bots that had gathered, who had now started to fire upon the approaching Decepticon, they began to get away as quickly as they could, but Bumblebee had stopped in his tracks.

"Come on 'Bee, what's wrong? We have to move!"

But Bumblebee didn't answer, he just stood there in shock. His bright blue optics only going wide as he watched the mech who destroyed his voice box, now aboard his ship, decimating his fellow Autobots.

Then Overlord turned his attention to them. The large blue and purple mech lifted his large fists, and brought them down to strike. However, at the last minute, they were pushed out of the way to safety by the black and gray blur that they knew all too well.

Prowl got back up, and started firing at the large Decepticon, and was clearly doing more damage than anyone else had been doing.

"Ah, so the Prime's noble henchman faces me alone. I must say, I admire your dedication to the Autobots, Prowl, but you won't stand in the Decepticon's way of taking down your tyrannical empire." Overlord said, his smooth voice unnerving coming from somebody of his brutish frame.

"Whatever you say, Overlord." Prowl responded, unamused.

The heroic Phase-Sixer quickly transformed his arm into a large cannon, and fired upon Prowl at point-blank range. He was surprised to see that the Autobot tactician had managed to somehow just barely dodge the powerful shot. However, just barely dodging it wasn't enough to save him, as there was a large chunk taken out of the right side of his torso.

Prowl looked up weerily from where he had fallen, his optics screaming 'Finish it,' to Overlord. He had saved some of his fellow shipmates, and the rare show of honour amongst Autobots along with his loyalty to Optimus would surely guarantee him immortality in the form of military honors and the like.

However, death would not come to him on this day, as Overlord's attention was elsewhere; a comm line with somebody else. Without a word, the large Decepticon ran off, clearly having new orders, most likely from Megatron himself.

He didn't see much more than a blur standing over him before he passed out. Luckily, Pipes caught the mech before he fully hit the ground. He dragged him to where Bumblebee and a few others had hid out at, and they went on their way to the medical bay.

* * *

Brainstorm and Nautica were in a panic to finish now, their device almost completed. The batteries had almost finished charging up, and the coordinates for Cybertron had been set. Brainstorm wasn't entirely sure where on Cybertron the quantum-warp capsule would deliver him, but he was fairly certain that he had narrowed it down to somewhere in the greater Iacon area. There was no doubt about it working, as the same design had worked when teleporting the _Lost Light_ to the planet that Megatron and his crew had fled to, so the only real worst case scenario would be if the capsule appeared inside somebot's home.

"Alright, that should be good." Brainstorm said, as he finished screwing on one of the bolts holding together the protective outer shell of the quantum-warp capsule. He went around to the front, and opened up the hatch to the small pod, his wings making it a little difficult to get in at first. He checked over everything one last time. Knowing them off the top of his helm, he started to input the coordinates for Cybertron to make sure to properly lock onto the intended target, and stepped out of it to admire his and Nautica's hard work.

"So, your all set then?" Nautica asked, as she finished putting away her tools she had been using to finish calibrations on the warp-core itself.

"Yeah. And just in time too. Rodimus sent me a message saying that the Decepticons were getting close to the lab, and that this is what they might be after."

"So… This is goodbye then." Nautica said, in a very matter-of-factly tone.

"Please don't… don't say that. It's not like I'm going to die or anything." Brainstorm said, trying to reassure her that everything would be fine.

"And besides," he continued, "We've gone over this, on what to do if captured by the Decepticons." he finished, as Nautica suddenly threw herself at Brainstorm, holding him in a tight embrace.

"But you should go hide or something. I'd much rather you still be here when I get back." Brainstorm said in a more lighthearted tone. Nautica let out a small chuckle at this, as she let him go, and stood back from the capsule.

In a rare bout of nervousness, Brainstorm squeezed back into the device, and closed the hatch. Out of the small view window, he watched Nautica hide in one of the storage lockers in the corner of his laboratory, a decent sized space, but not enough for anyone to be suspicious of someone hiding in it.

Brainstorm started up the systems, and a loud whirring noise could be heard, the warp-core coming to life as it began to teleport him away. In the last few moments aboard the _Lost Light_, through the purple mist surrounding the capsule, he locked optics with the large mass that was Overlord, and then he was gone.

…

Nautica held a hand over her face, holding her vent. She was relieved that Brainstorm had managed to teleport out of there just in time, but her attention was now drawn to the large Phase-Sixer standing where the capsule had been just seconds before. The large Decepticon put a hand up to his audial, and sent out a comm to somebot. Nautica could just barely hear his end of the line.

"...and they seemed to have escaped. I can only assume it to be the device you had tasked me with finding… Oh. really?… Then it shall be done at once Megatron. Overlord out." he said, as he walked out of the room, Nautica still hearing his heavy footsteps as he walked down the hall.

Nautica finally let out a heavy exvent, and slumped down in her hiding space. It would be until well over an hour or so until she dared to leave her cover.

* * *

With so many small cells of Decepticons scattered about the warship, despite reports of them retreating back outside, Ultra Magnus had taken off down the hallways of the _Lost Light_ in his alt-mode, a heavy-duty armored truck, to get to the ship's hangar bay, as that was where the largest skirmish was taking place. Honking his horn wildly as to get anyone out of his way, he finally made it to the entrance of the hagar, only to find it blocked off by more Decepticons. Severely pissed off at this point, Ultra Magnus went full throttle right through the small team of Vehicons that had been in his way. He quickly transformed, and picked up one of the blasters that the Vehicons had dropped, and started firing, his bad arm still limp at his side.

After taking out a few approaching Decepticons, a powerful blast hit him in the back, knocking him forward, but he managed to keep himself standing. He turned around, and saw as Overlord leapt towards him. Swiftly, Ultra Magnus stepped to the side, and punched Overlord in the chest. The blow didn't even phase the large Decepticon, as he got back up, and started wailing away at the Autobot warrior.

"Overlord, I'm surprised you're still alive at this point, given by how easily Black Shadow was taken out." Ultra Magnus said, as he got in a few hits himself.

"Yes, a shame he passed on. However, it was a true warrior's death." Overlord grunted, as he kneed Ultra Magnus in the chest, and pushing him back. "But what did it take for you to do him in again? After all, he was all alone on some desolate planet, how hard could it have been?" Overlord said, as his fist flew right into Ultra Magnus' faceplates. "Oh, that's right, over 100,000 Autobots, and four months of nuclear bombardment from orbit." he continued, making it clear he was out for payback over his fallen comrade.

Ultra Magnus, now hunched over, and bleeding out energon all over his body, looked up to Overlord, only now realising that there was barely a scratch on him. Overlord leaned down, and grabbing Ultra Magnus by the neck, hoisted him to his feet.

"You… your laughing." Ultra Magnus said, taking notice of how Overlord was clearly trying to hold back bursting into laughter. "W-what's the joke?" he continued on, weekly.

"You, Ultra Magnus. The joke is you. Everything about you; the maucho-mech posturing, your paranoia about keeping your head, and your unwillingness to do battle unless the enemy is stood right in front of you." Overlord said, blocking a jab Ultra Magnus tried and failed to sneak in while he was talking.

"But you see, that's not why I'm laughing," Overlord continued, "I'm laughing because you've not been holding back-" he said calmly, as a long sharp blade transformed out of his right arm. He thrust it forward before Ultra Magnus could fully react, and the blade went right through his lower torso. "-and I have." Overlord finished, as he retracted the blade.

Overlord watched as Ultra Magnus struggled to step forward, clearly not ready to give up. The Autobot fell down to his knees, and transformed his good arm back into his built-in blaster, but before he could even lift it up to aim at his opponent, he slumped forwards, passing out face down in a slowly growing pool of his own energon.

* * *

Far away from Earth, across the other side of the galaxy, Cybertron laid waiting for him to arrive. Brainstorm couldn't tell if any time had passed since he had activated his war capsule, but he did know one thing; he was really fragging grateful for the extra armor that Nautica had suggested. The quantum-warp capsule had worked splendidly, yes, however the arrival point wasn't necessarily as intended, as it was some 50 stories up in the air, as opposed to teleported in safely at ground level. The Autobot scientists felt the shock go throughout his whole frame as the pod hit the hard concrete surface that was, from what little he could see out of his view window, a park.

He typed in a command on the internal console, and the capsule door swung upwards, and he lazily fell out, landing on his hands and knees. His optics were still weary, and he took notice of various mecha running up to him. Whether or not it was to make sure he was okay, or to violently question what had happened, was an uncertainty to him, but judging by the general shape of his surroundings, the large opulent buildings being a dead giveaway, was that he was in the central plaza of Iacon.

Before he knew it, a bright red and blue mech had reached him, and held out a hand to help him up.

"Geez Brainstorm, what the Pit happened to you?" Smokescreen asked, as he pulled Brainstorm back onto his own two pedes. Brainstorm, still a little disoriented, managed to steady himself. At first he tried to brace himself against the pod, but the outside layer of it was scolding hot, and did not hesitate to draw away from it.

"A lot, believe me." Brainstorm said, letting out a heavy sigh. "But right now, I need a meeting with Optimus Prime."

* * *

"...ee, come on Bee, wake up!"

Bumblebee slowly onlined his optics, and quickly shielding them from the bright that was directed onto him, as he sat up on the medical berth in the ever-familiar medical bay of the _Lost Light_. Standing over him, as well as the one trying to wake him up, was Rodimus, a look of dire concern upon his faceplates. His purple and black brother was quick to bring him into a tight hug, as if afraid of him dying.

***What… what happened?*** Bumblebee buzzed curiously. He adjusted his optics some more, and when he looked around the medbay, he wished that he hadn't. All around were bodies, some not even alive anymore. Dim-glowing energon, indicating that it was still fresh, lined the floors and medical berths everywhere. He wished to Primus that this was just some sick nightmare.

He suddenly retracted his face mask, and purged his tanks onto the floor next to his berth, before falling back into another comatose state.

"Well, that certainly wasn't what I was expecting." a stern voice said from the next berth over. Rodimus looked over to see Prowl, the large hole in his side now mostly repaired with some welds, as First Aid finished up his repairs on the cop-bot.

"Thank you, by the way. For saving him." Rodimus said warily.

"Your welcome." Prowl said, in the usual serious tone of his.

"And Magnus?" Rodimus said, his tone a little more on edge this time.

"I've instructed the medics to stabilize him and keep him alive, but to keep him low on the priority list of treatment. We can manage without him." Prowl said.

Rodimus looked around the medibay, only now fully taking in the sights of carnage all around him. He then looked up as someone approached. The bot in question, Pipes, had returned with another injured Autobot, and one of First Aid's medical assistants instructed him on where to place them.

After doing so, the dark colored bot strode over to where Rodimus and Bumblebee were.

"How is he holdin' up?" He asked, his voice giving away that he was nervous of the answer.

"Welp, other than purging himself just now, and the massive traumatic experience of earlier, I'd say he's… taking it well." Rodimus said, unsure of what else to say on the matter. "Hey, think you can watch over Bee for a while Pipes? I have some things that need to be taken care of."

"Sure, not a problem." Pipes responded, as he pulled up a chair next to Bumblebee's medical berth, and sat himself there the way a security guard would watch over a bank vault.

Rodimus got up, and walked out of the medical bay, determined to get a hold on the situation, and to make sure that everything could be as good as it can be in a time like this.

* * *

Upon their arrival back to the _Nemesis_'s compound, the Decepticons were having a mini-celebration of sorts, as Megatron had declared the mission as resounding success. All the energon they had taken from the Autobots was instantly put to use, being stockpiled in the engine room with what little left there had been after the strenuous bridging that had been done. Overlord, being as resourceful as ever, had managed to commandeer one of the Autobots' shuttles, and had decided to stay with the _Nemesis_ crew for a little while longer.

Megatron, not usually being one for parties, decided that it would be best to celebrate alongside his troops. As to accommodate everyone in one place, the celebration was held outside, with Soundwave pumping music through the ship's communications system.

However, given that it was late into the night at this point, Megatron resigned to get some well-earned recharge time, and so he said his congratulations to his fellow Decepticons, and went off to his quarters for the night.

…

Megatron bolted upright at the sound of his commlink going off. He hadn't realised he had slept in, and then remembered that he didn't set an alarm. Then again, now was not the worst time to enjoy a little extra time in recharge. Reaching up to his audial, he activated the comm line with the bot on the other end.

/Lord Megatron, are you alright?/ Starscream asked over the comms.

/Yes, yes, im quite alright Starscream. Just a little extra recharge, that's all./

/Of course, my apologies for bothering you. However, you should be aware that Overlord will be taking off soon, so it would be best to say your farewells./

/Very well then, Starscream. I'll be on the bridge soon enough./ Megatron said, as he dropped the line.

Knowing full well that the Autobots would never have the gall to undergo any operations so soon after an attack, Megatron forgoed putting on his helmet, the more bulkier parts of his external armor, and fusion cannon for the day.

His walk to the ship's bridge proved to be more difficult than expected, as he was now feeling the soreness of last night's raid. And during his walk there, he was met with greetings and congratulations from various crew who had been unable to partake in the raid themselves.

…

Walking onto the bridge, he was met with similar greetings, and gave his usual good mornings to those around him. That was when he heard the distinct "woah" of somebody in disbelief. A very small someone to be exact. Megatron turned to see Overlord sitting next to the human's platform, most likely telling stories of his own escapades during the war, but he also took notice of the three human youths staring up at him dumbfoundedly.

"I didn't realise all that armor you had could come off. Always thought it was just, ya know, part of your body." Jack said.

"Yeah, and I gotta say that headdress looks so cool!" Miko said, commenting on the for panels that had unfolded after he had taken off his helmet.

"Ah, of course. I understand it may seem strange, however, this is very much close to my original build frame." Megatron replied.

"Well, hopefully one day none of us will need battle armor anymore. And last night sure proved we have the power to still win this war." Overlord said, as he strode over to Megatron.

"I hear that your on your way now. But tell me, where will you go?" Megatron asked.

"Wherever I am needed most I suppose. I plan on searching for other Decepticons, and making sure we aren't all getting our afts handed to us, despite how bad things may seem sometimes." Overlord responded.

"Then I wish you the best of luck. We all do." Megatron said, shaking his fellow Decepticon's hand. With that, Overlord turned and waved to all on the bridge, and made his way out.

Megatron, now invigorated over recent events, decided that it was long past time to do something.

"Soundwave, has the radio satellite agent Fowler provided us properly hooked up to our communications system yet?"

"Affirmative." came the communication officer's reply.

"Give me open comms across the galaxy, on all Decepticon frequencies, I have a message for our troops." Megatron said commandingly. He gathered his thoughts for a moment, and collected up what he was about to say.

"Communications; open. You may proceed."

Megatron stepped forward, picking up the microphone from his command chair.

"With the Autobots in control, we may not be able to return to our planet. But fate has yielded a reward, a new world to call home. We live among its people, hiding in plain sight, protecting them from the Autobot threat. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though they are worlds apart, like us, there is more to them than meets the eye." Megatron shot a quick glance around, his troops and the humans clearly entranced by his words.

"I am Megatron, and I send this message to any surviving Decepticons taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We, are waiting."


	9. Chapter 8: Breakout

**Hydrax Plateau; Cybertron.**

**Blackspark Supermax Security Prison.**

…

Built upon the jagged metallic coastline where the Eastern-most part of the Hydrax Plateau meets the Sea of Rust, is the nigh-impenetrable Autobot prison of Blackspark, part of a much larger military complex. Constructed during the latter half of the Great War, and built upon the ruins of an already ancient citadel, from even before the time of Nova Prime, the large prison is now where most of the Decepticon prisoners of war are locked up. Escape is thought to be impossible, as the prison itself is on a peninsula, with one way in by land that led to a nearby fortress city, and was in one of the few places in the Sea of Rust where there was still water, now tainted and dark from the rusty seabed.

However, even in the face of eternal imprisonment in what is arguably one of the most dreary and miserable places on all of Cybertron, the many Decepticon inmates managed to keep their spirits up. Every afternoon, in what little time in the outdoor recreation yards they had, the Decepticons traded stories and conversations with one another, many mingling with other troops they had never met before. And in the evenings, the cell blocks were filled with the sound of Decepticon war chants and battle hymns, as to spite the guards, who were unable to mute their prisoners' defiance.

It had been months now since most of the Decepticon forces had either been driven off Cybertron, killed in battle, or ended up Blackspark. Outside, a particularly nasty storm was brewing out in the Sea of Rust, the sound of thunder distance over the horizon. Such disruptions were ignored by Tankor. The old Decepticon general had long since gotten used to the frequent offshore storms, being in one of the cells with a window that provided him an outside view of one of the guard's barracks. In the absence of any other high-ranking officers amongst the prisoners, Tankor had taken up the leadership mantle to the army's worth of inmates at the notorious prison.

Yet, only to him did the distant storm reveal what events were to unfold later that very night. One of the guards, a Decepticon sympathiser, had helped him send out a message for a plan of escape, one unlike any other that had been conducted. All previous escapes had failed, so the very idea of it was laughable. However, unlike all past attempts, they had an Ace up their subspace, and he didn't just mean the access card he had taken; because the breakout wouldn't just be from the inside.

* * *

"Alright, back in yer' cells, ya cyber-roaches!"

Evening had fallen at this point, and the inmates were being marched back to their cells after their nightly cube of energon, that was always served in a large open space dotted with snipers.

Swindle had been having what was probably the worst time out of the prisoners at Blackspark. One of the members of the famed Combaticons, he had been going through a serious case of what could be seen as withdrawal. Combiner teams share a certain bond, and not linking up into their more powerful gestalt form was noted to be highly unhealthy, as was discovered by the Constructicons after Scrapper went missing for over a decade.

Swindle shuttered his dim optics for a moment, as he rested his weakened self on his berth. If there was one thing the green logistics expert was thankful for, was that he wasn't doomed to rot alone in this cell. He heard the pedesteps of his cellmate enter a few moments after himself, and the sound of the energy shield activating, sealing them within. Looking over to the other berth, he saw the familiar yellow and blue recon scout sitting there.

"You all good, Swindle?" he asked.

"Good as I can be, Counterpunch." Swindle said, forcing a smile through his pained state. He couldn't show weakness now, not in front of the Autobots. He had known Counterpunch ever since he had first arrived at Blackspark, and he was known to be sociable with the rest of the inmates as well. The two imprisoned Decepticons chatted absently for a little while longer, Swindle's agony having thankfully passed on by then.

Then, Swindle noticed something, his dark blue optics catching three guards coming towards their cell. One of them typed an access code into the control panel, and the energy shield disappeared.

"Decepticon scout, designation Counterpunch. The warden would like a word with you." One of the guards said, a heavy-set mech with a hand cannon strapped to his back.

Swindle was curious, as nobody ever got taken away to talk with the warden. Pit, the vibrant red and purple femme barely ever showed herself around the cellblocks, always patroling the outer walls or busy in her office.

Counterpunch grinned. "Of course, best not to keep her in waiting," he said. The guards didn't even grab him, as he voluntarily got up to go with them.

"Hey, whats going on here?" Swindle asked, confused by the situation.

Counterpunch only glared back at him, as his form slowly began to shift. Shoulders folding back, and wheels shifting position, his wheel's rims changing from silver to gold. His once vibrant yellows and blues gave way to a dark purple and silver, and a golden Autobot insignia appeared on his chest.

"Counterpunch… Your an Autobot!?" Swindle cried, as he slammed into the now reactivated energy shield before he could strangle the treacherous mech.

"Through and through, it would seem." the now revealed spy said, in a much more sinister tone than his other form had. "And for the record, the names just 'Punch'" he continued.

"I'll scrap you myself if I get out of here!" Swindle shouted.

"I doubt that very much. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some juicy information to tell the warden. Ta ta, Decepti-creep." Punch said, as he and the rest of the guards walked away, out of sight.

Swindle, being rightfully enraged over this revelation, started punching the energy shield as if Punch himself were still standing right there. Already weak, he gave up after striking the shielding a few dozen or so times over.

He eventually started pacing around his cell, thinking over just how much the Decepticon prisoners had talked to Punch about plans, strategies, and personal life, as they had all thought him to simply be one of them.

He was brought out of his thoughts, as a loud rumble of thunder boomed, and he snapped around to look at the nearest window, that being in the cell across from his own. He could now see that the storm had reached the shores of the plateau, as drops of polluted rain had begun splashing against the heavily reenforced window.

He then looked to the cell's occupants, two seekers whom he had encountered various times throughout the war. One was adorned with a green camo scheme with highlights of black, and the other was a conehead, all black and dark gray, with lines of vibrant orange on his wings and upper legs, and recognized them as both Acid Storm, a rainmaker who looked worse for wear, and Thrust, a well-known tactician, who had helped to formulate many a winning strategy against the Autobot forces. In fact, Swindle probably worked with Thrust more times than he knew, as head of logistics for the Decepticons, he was moving weapons and supplies all across Cybertron and the colony worlds, so it wouldn't surprise him if he had been supplying most of his endeavours.

Thrust gave Swindle a polite wave, taking notice of the green mech observing them. Out of courtesy, Swindle waved back, wishing that their comm systems hadn't been disabled so that he could talk from afar with the other inmates.

Content that he had nothing else to do, the Combaticon in question simply laid down on his berth, and did his best to get some recharge that night. However, sleep would not come to him this night, not yet at least, as this was when everything was set into motion.

A loud explosion could be heard throughout the vast complex, shaking everybot to the core. Then everyone began to hear the distinct sound of gunfire and flak turrets in the distance. The lights began to flicker, then there was darkness. And given that the energy shields gave off some light, the blackness of the cell block left no question as to what was happening. The Decepticon prisoners wandered out of their cells, using either their bio-lights or headlights to see in the darkness.

After another few minutes, the lights flickered back to life. With the shielding for the cells down, but the doors out of the cell block they were still locked, there was not much else they could do but wait.

Then, from behind one of the large blast doors at the end of the block, a faint "CLEAR THE DOOR!" was shouted out, and the sound of drills spinning against the thick metal gave clear indication to what was being set.

The Decepticons stood back from the door, and just in time as well. For no sooner than they had taken cover from what was to come, a flash and a boom went off, and the armored door came flying off it's supports. Walking into the newly-liberated cell block through the smouldering rubble that was once the door, was none other than general Tankor, a large rifle slung over his shoulder, with even more soldiers behind him.

"Now tell me," Tankor said, "Who's ready to kick some Autobot aft tonight?"

* * *

**The Grand Liberation; Decepticon Warship**

**Location: Over Blackspark Supermax Prison**

…

"General, the prison complex's communications have been scrambled. I estimate about 20 minutes before they can break through to call out for reinforcements."

"Excellent. Keep up the good work, and keep shooting down their fliers." The general said, her voice filled with elation.

Strika had been planning this mission ever since she caught wind that the Autobots would be so foolish enough to move mass numbers of Decepticons to a central location. Albeit, a very large, heavily fortified location. Thankfully, she had managed to receive Tankor's message about the super-storms in that region, as they perfectly cloaked any ships hiding amongst them.

Currently, all weapons systems onboard were firing away at the Autobots' fortifications, taking down every ship or gun emplacement they could. Even from up above, they could tell that sections of the complex's power had been taken out by the now darkened buildings.

The crimson and orange general brought up a communications line to the hangar bay of the _Grand Liberation_ on her console.

"Yes, general?" the trooper on the other end of the line said.

"Are the shuttles ready to be sent down to receive our comrades in arms?" Strika asked.

"Affirmative. All fueled up and ready for launch." the response came.

"Excellent. Don't launch them until we are certain our people down there have gotten to the landing zone. Over and out." Strika ordered, as she cut the comm line.

All the famed general could do now is wait for Tankor's troops to make it out of that Pit-forsaken place alive.

* * *

Currently, the many number of Decepticon prisoners were gathered around the armory of the prison. Swindle, Thrust, and Tankor had begun to pass out all manner of guns and blades to whoever needed them, even returning most of the personal weapons that had been confiscated.

All across Blackspark by now, almost every Cell Block had been freed, and the guards were not prepared for such a wide-scale breakout. Even with support from the on-site military base, they were barely a match for the hundreds of Decepticons that were rebelling against them.

Off in one of the guard towers, the Autobots stationed there had devised an idea to quickly deal with the seemingly endless amounts of prisoners.

"Are you certain this is a good idea sir?" the Autotrooper said, as they finished aiming one of the large anti-air turrets at one of the prison buildings.

"Trust me on this one 0X-86, this is a sure-fire way to blast those Decepticons either back to their cells, or to the Allspark." the commander, known as Scattershot replied, cocky as ever. The well-decorated artillery bot was the commander of the overall military complex, whereas the prison was run by its infamous warden.

With a watchful optic trained on the cell block that they had aimed at, the base commander saw a crowd move past, barely making them out through the small windows. "I see movement in the block, fire at will!"

And as soon as the final words had left his vocalizer, the Autotrooper on the turret started blasting away at the building's walls, slowly opening up a hole in the side of it. The constant hellfire that rained down from the cannon cut down many of the unsuspecting Decepticons inside the cell block, dozens being taken out as the gun sprayed wildly.

"Ha ha! We have them now." Scattershot exclaimed, as he watched the carnage his assistant was wreaking upon the prisoners.

Then, he heard a faint whirring sound, as looked over to see the mighty gun powering down.

"Ah Pit, what's wrong with the thing, 0X-86?" Scattershot asked furiously.

"Haven't a clue, sir. It's like the power's been cut or something." came the Autotrooper's response.

And at the sound of shouting, Scattershot and 0X-86 were pulled out of their problem for a moment, as they looked out to see the Decepticons now using the hole they had opened up as an escape out of the prison, and into the rest of the military complex.

"Ah. Well then, that's fragging fantastic." Scattershot replied, deadpanning.

"Should we inform the warden of this, sir?" 0X-86 asked, at a loss for words himself.

"Might as well do," Shattershot responded, "but something tells me she won't like it."

* * *

At the top of one of the prison's administrative office buildings, lies the office of the cruel and war-hardened warden. Adorning the walls of the office were various trophies from her time fighting for the Autobots, mostly weapons and mods she had claimed from the bodies of her most fearsome adversaries.

Before the breakout started, she had been taking care of some evening paperwork before heading off to recharge. She knew something was afoot when the power went out in the building, and the small potted crystal plants she kept became the main source of light. Now, she stood out on her office's balcony, droplets of rain sliding down her frame, observing the battle commencing over the prison, _her_ prison.

Behind her, she could hear the approaching pedesteps. Uniform in their beat, and not too heavy, most likely a more modern build of troopers. Her years of hunting experience gave her such insights.

The Autotrooper stopped and kneeled, once at an appropriate distance.

"You may speak, trooper." said the warden unceremoniously.

"Lord Arcee, news has been brought in. The Decepticons have broken out from where we managed to hold their advance, and they are attacking not just the prison, but all of the Blackspark complex."

Arcee's bright purple bio-lights flared for a second, not out of rage, but out of excitement. She turned, and walked back inside, brushing past the still-kneeling servant bot. Her well-polished scarlet and magenta plating shimmered as she walked past her crystals, her four black helicopter blades having resemblance of a cape.

Reaching a well-tidied cabinet, Arcee pulled out a key from her subspace, and unlocked the case. She pulled out an intricately crafted fusion sniper-rifle, one of the most powerful weapons she managed to "persuade" Perceptor into building for her. She loaded a fusion cartridge into it, and spun around to face the servant-bot, now stood off to the side of the room.

Aiming out past the balcony, she let off a single shot. Moments later, a seeker was seen plummeting downwards, and crashing into one of the nearby buildings.

"Excellent shot, your lordship." the drone said.

Arcee merely grunted in acknowledgment, not caring about the praise, for she knew well enough how good she was. She slung the rifle onto her back, careful to keep it out of the way of her blades. She then activated her integrated arm-blades, and checked them over to make sure they were still sharp.

Satisfied with the state of her armaments, Arcee broke out into a sprint, running towards her balcony. She hopped up onto the guardrail, and with a great leap into the air, she transformed into her helicopter mode, and flew off into the stormy night towards the fray.

…

As the now freed Decepticon forces pushed their way through the grueling onslaught of the Blackspark complex, in their endeavour to reach the landing zone to be evacuated from, the Autobots were implementing ever possible tool at their disposal to stop them. With the Decepticon warship overhead jamming all communications, there was no way to call in reinforcements of any kind, and with the Decepticons being fully fueled and armed to the denta, there was seemingly nothing they could do other than kill as many as they could before they escaped.

Most of the escaped Decpticons were currently in a stalemate with the remaining guards and soldiers, and taking heavy fire from various positions up the tower they were attacking. The various tank-formers and artillery bots on either side were doing their best to decimate the other side, as the building they were currently fighting over was the base's docking tower, where all the shuttles were stored, and the location that they had been told to reach to get evacuated from.

Arcee, never one to pass up on an opportunity, opened fire upon the amassed Decepticons as she flew past, her high-energy blaster fire dealing out heavy damage. Some of the Decepticons that had a spare moment began to fire upon the dreaded Autobot huntress. However, she managed to dodge enemy fire, and swooped back around, and charged right at them. With little time to take in everything, the Decepticons barely moved out of the way when she transformed, and slammed her arm-blades right into the chest of one of them, offlining them instantly. Arcee began to slash and blast her way through this band of Decepticon soldiers, with most of them now focused on taking her out. And with the Decepticon focus elsewhere, the Autobots had time to regroup, and charged into the amassed Decepticons.

The ensuing battle was bloody and vicious, neither side holding back as they fought for their lives. Tankor, never one to shy away from action, was firing off rockets and heavy blaster fire non-stop, cutting down any Autobot he saw, whilst Thrust had taken to the skies with the other Decepticon seekers, circling the heavily fortified tower.

"Come on, soldiers! We're almost home free!" Tankor shouted out over the almost deafening sound of battle, as he continued firing away at the enemy from atop the ruins of a fallen guard tower. He looked around, something catching his attention from out of the corner of his optic. He looked on in horror, as Arcee was cutting down Decepticon after Decepticon with ease, her arm-blades fully stained a faintly glowing blue from all the energon she had spilled.

In his brief moment of distraction, a rocket exploded right next to Tankor, sending him flying into the mess of bots and cons. He struggled for a moment, regaining his balance as he stood himself back up, and realised that he was only a few meters away from Arcee, and she seemed to be moving in his direction, her Autobot forces following behind and forming a barrier, preventing the Decpticons from reaching the evacuation zone.

Then, coming down from storming clouds overhead, the low rumble of a ship's engines were heard. A large shuttle broke through, and was on target for the battle. As it drew closer, it opened fire on the Autobot forces, it's powerful guns sending the enemy forces flying. Whilst it zoomed past them, they noticed the bright red Decepticon insignia painted on the sides of the ship. And before the Autobots could recover from the quick bombardment they just underwent, the ship turned back around, and came in for another strike.

After it's attack, the ship flew over the Decepticons, and hovered in place. The cargo bay doors on either side of the ship opened up, and four Cybertronians could be seen standing on the edge.

/Swindle, I sure hope to Primus that your ready down there, or else this won't be a pretty landing./ Though the line was full of static, Swindle could still recognize the voice of the Combaticon leader, Onslaught. And soon after the message ended, the four other Combaticons dropped from the shuttle, and Swindle ran up to where they were dropping down. One of them, now noticeable as Vortex, had even begun to shoot wildly down at the Autobots. With them nearing the ground now, the Combaticons were in close enough proximity to turn the tide of this battle. They began to transform together, their bodies merging into each other, forming the mighty Bruticus.

The gestalt surveyed the courtyard they had been fighting over, and took note of the various Autobot positions that had begun to fire upon him. He let loose a barrage of missiles from his torso, taking out the nearby guard towers that were still firing down upon the escaped Decepticons. Then he raised his leg up, and slammed it down into the Autobot forces, then proceeded to swifty kick at the crowd with his other foot, taking out many of the amassed enemy troops.

With the rest of the Decepticons continuing to deal with the Autobot forces, Bruticus marched forwards towards the hangar tower before him, and proceeded to lean down, and he punched the heavy blast-door in. From inside, a few Autobot guards stood their ground, desperate to hold onto this last line of defence. However, with being stacked up against overwhelming odds, and with any possible reinforcements hours away, the Autobots inside the hangar bay were run down by the wave of Decepticons, who were frantically trying to get their hands on whatever ship they could.

Bruticus, still on the outside, swatted away any attempts to bring him down, and acted as a barrier between the Autobots amassed before him, and the tower his comrades were currently attempting to escape from. Once more, he let off a volley of missiles and gunfire down upon the Autobots, taking out many of the lesser-armored troopers. Then, he lifted his large pede once again, and in a sweeping motion, kicked at those close to him, sending them flying!

From across the courtyard, a missile was launched, and detonated behind the Autobots, further disorienting them. Bruticus looked over, and saw Tankor stood atop the fallen body of a massive Autobot, passing out an unrelenting smackdown on the Autobots. Now trapped between the two Decepticons, many of the weaker-willed Autobots gave up and ran off back into other parts of the complex.

Bruticus strode over, and quickly snatched up Tankor, as he saw a group of particularly big and rowdy Autobots charging at him, and knew that the injured general wouldn't last long under such a face-to-face brawl.

And so, after quickly getting back over to the hangar, they looked up and the sound of engines. Up above, their assistance had come; shuttles coming down from the _Grand Liberation_, ready to pick up whoever couldn't fit onto the Autobot shuttles.

"Haha, Strika old gal's done it again!" Takor cried in joy, seeing as the escape plan had been successful for the most part.

/Miss me, old friend?/ a choppy message came in over the old general's commlink.

/Strika, I hope things are going well?/ Tankor asked.

/All according to plan. However, the signal jammers have run their course, obviously, and scanners detect Autobot reinforcements inbound from the city further inland due East of here. We don't have enough time to get everyone out without-/

/Not to worry, you know I'll figure my way out of this mess/ Tankor said confidently.

/Very well then. Best of luck to you, Tankor./ Strika said, cutting the comm line.

"Orders, general Tankor?" Bruticus boomed as he kept on firing at the Autobots.

Tankor looked up to the mighty gestalt from where he was in his hand, and looked back out over the now regrouping Autobots, clearly in larger numbers now, most likely from troops coming from the outskirts of the base.

"Defend the launch pad. Make sure everyone escapes."

…

Arcee was in no way happy with how the day had been going. In fact, she was absolutely livid with it. How dare these lowly Decepticons even so much as consider an escape from her prison? They certainly had some ball-bearings to pull this stunt off. Luckily for her, she didn't have to face the breakout alone, as she had plenty of drones and semi-competent soldiers at her disposal to fight them back. For the most part however, the prison guards were merely cannon fodder, while the real soldiers from the military base adjacent to the prison had been doing most of the work during the breakout.

What she also was realising now is that she should of had all of the prisoner's transformation-cogs removed, as she leapt out of the way of Bruticus' fist slamming into the ground, breaking the metal surface with ease. Transforming both her arms back into blasters, she fired up at the combiner in an attempt to distract it. It worked, and Bruticus leaned down to go after her, but he wasn't quick enough. Arcee leapt up onto the arm that had been brought down, and sprinted up it, and leaped off his shoulder like a ramp before he could do anything about it.

Reaching forwards, she fired high-explosive rounds into a window behind Bruticus' head, and tucked and rolled through, safely landing inside the hangar. Looking around the spacious structure, she saw that not all that many Autobot ships had been taken. However, looking up towards the exit at the top of the tower, she caught a glimpse of the last of the escape shuttles, as well as the Decepticon warship, vanish into the storm clouds overhead. Arcee swiftly transformed, and flew up the vertical takeoff tunnel, going all the way to the top floor. Once she landed, she saw what she was after, her personal ship. She unlocked the entrance hatch, and set about bringing the vessel online, not having used it since being appointed as warden of Blackspark. Once she had managed to power up the ship's systems and check everything over, she got the vessel airborne, and angled upwards to better breach the atmosphere.

Arce climbed higher and higher, managing to shoot down some of the escape pods on her way up, no longer caring about bringing the Decepticons back alive. Nearing the edge of the storm clouds, she heard a terrible explosion, and activated rear cameras to see what had happened. Far down below, the hangar bay, along with a significant portion of the complex had gone up, the tower barely noticeable through the fire and smoke. There was no doubt about it that it had been the doing of that Tankor, who she hoped had perished in that last 'heroic' act of his.

…

It had taken Arcee a while to get out of Cybertron's atmosphere, and she was now catching up with the now-free Decepticon prisoners. Unfortunately for her, the various ships had started to break off into smaller groups, many of which were too far away by now to go after herself. Then, she spotted a faint blip on her ship's scanners, a small number of escape pods and shuttles fairly close by, and moving fast in a direction no others had went. Arcee quickly noted down the likely headings of the various groups of ships, along with what she was planning, and relayed the transmission to Autobot command in Iacon.

With her very informal paperwork out of the way, she headed off after her new prey, her huntress instincts slowly creeping back online. And so, she strapped in for a long ride, not knowing how long it would take to catch up to these escapees.

* * *

A lone servant-class Autotrooper sifted through the flaming wreckage, digging around where the guard tower once stood but moments ago. He perked up once he found what he was after, and uncovered the mech buried underneath the ruined base. Carefully, he leaned the disoriented mobile artillery-former up against a broken but standing wall.

"Sir? How are you feeling sir?" 0X-86 asked them. It took a few moments, but the bot before him spoke up.

"Yes... I think so. But I do believe a visit from a medic would be required." Scattershot said, groaning through the pain. "Just a damn shame what will come after all this."

"The long and grueling clean-up and repairs, sir?"

"No. The paperwork high command will want in order to explain all this."


	10. Chapter 9: Masters and Students

**A/N: Well, this took longer than expected to get done. But anyways, here's the next instalment of our story, with a return to stories based on episodes. Although, I plan on using episode concepts from multiple shows too.**

**And in response to some reviews!**

**English patch: **Don't worry, we get a small glimpse at everyone's favorite construction boys this chapter. And, I have big plans for them way down the road, so keep an eye out for that.

**Crystine Decepticon: **Yeah, I'm slowly getting better at proofreading. And at some point I'll be going back and cleaning up some of the earlier chapters.

**Anglewings2002: **Oh yeah, Arcee is definitely one bot you don't want to be on the bad side of. We will be seeing plenty of her soon enough.

**Queen Flara:** Glad you enjoy the story so far, and my writing style. I've always thought I write a little odd at times, so thanks!

* * *

Prowl sat alone in his office, as he replayed the security footage once again. Had it not been for the stimulants he spiked his energon with, he would have passed out hours ago. But Prowl was one of the best tactical minds the Autobots had, and over the many years had developed the perfect brew for long nights mulling over piles of data. He intently observed the multi-screen setup he had at his desk, taking in every nanosecond of footage from the Decepticons attack he could. He was cut short however, as a faint tapping was heard on the door to his office. He paused the footage, and got up to open it, and was met with Rodimus.

"Uhhh... bad time?" he asked.

"No. What do you want, Rodimus?" he asked coldly. He stood aside to let the young commander enter, and locked the door once again. After Prowl had seated himself again, the two began to talk.

"The reason I'm here is because, well, you know…"

"Yes, I do know. Your worried about word getting out of us having a Decepticon locked up in the basement." Prowl said, cutting him off.

"Well, what are we going to do about it? You havent been on board long enough to know it, but these 'bots may act moronic, but they arent stupid. If they put their processor to it, they'll find out eventually." Rodimus said

"That makes no sense."

"That's besides the point. I just want to know how we get a handle on the situation."

There was a moment of silence before either talked again, but Prowl gave an inquisitive look to Rodimus. "We don't say a word, or get a handle on anything. The crew already knows what we want them to know. Overlord was simply part of the Decepticons' attack, nothing more, nothing less."

"Yeah, and I'm not saying we are wrong in keeping it that way, but it just feels…"

"Dirty?" came the Police-bot's quick response.

"Yeah, exactly." Rodimus replied.

"Good. You have a conscience, and that seems to be a rarity these days." Prowl said, leaning back in his chair

"Well, of course I'm conscience about this, the monster that traumatised my brother nearly killed him the other day!" Rodimus cried.

Prowl simply glared at him, waiting for him to calm down. It's not that he didn't understand the young mech's frustration, he wouldn't be too happy either if something happened to Smokescreen or Bluestreak, it's just that he didn't have the time to deal with it right now.

"And is that everything you wanted to talk to me about?" Prowl asked.

"Just one more thing before I go. An update more than anything really," Rodimus said, "The scanners were repaired a while ago, so hopefully we can track down some energon soon."

"We'd better. The Decepticons managed to take a considerable amount of our stockpile with them during the attack, not to mention the power drain from all the ship's weapon systems has set us back some." Prowl said.

Now having spoken his piece, Rodimus stood up from his seat and walked towards the door. He looked back, and saw that Prowl had wasted no time in getting back to his work. And thusly, he strode out of his office, the door closing behind him.

* * *

Onboard the _Nemesis_, things had been relatively calm since the raid on the Autobot base. In fact, they had managed to take about half the energon that was used to power the retrofitted ground bridge, so their store rooms were fairly well off for the time being. And, miraculously, there had been minimal casualties sustained during the raid, the worst case being some of the Vehicons having missing limbs.

However, now that he knew what this band of Autobots were capable of, Megatron would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. The Decepticons were just barely getting anything of worth from the Autobots' abandoned operation, and they would have to locate new sources soon enough.

Suddenly, there was the sound of an explosion, though not a powerful one. Starscream shot up from where he was sitting at a terminal, going so far as to charge up his null-rays. Megatron turned to where he had heard it come from, the human's platform, where a small plume of smoke was rising up from.

"Uh, sorry about that." Raf said with a nervous chuckle, as he wiped some soot from his glasses.

"And what is it that you all are working on?" Megatron asked as he approached them. Now closer, he saw that Raf, with some help from Steve, had set up a miniature volcano, however the top of it seemed to be a little melted.

"Our school projects that are due tomorrow. They make up a big part of our grade." Jack said, from where he and Airachnid were working on some sort of internal combustion engine.

"Super important, but super boring too." Miko said, as she finished painting a red dot on Jupiter for her solar system model, which Breakdown was precariously holding up.

Starscream, now curious, had leaned over to observe the human's projects. "Well, these are certainly… intriguing, to say the least. However, wouldn't it be best to have other humans assist you, considering the subject matter?" the seeker asked.

"Well, aren't you a scientist or something, 'Screamer? Maybe you could help out!" said Miko.

"I was a scientist, yes. But I'm certain there those more well suited to assist you." Starscream said.

"Perhaps it would be for the best, Starscream." Megatron said. "A part of our shared cultural exchange, if you will. And considering Breakdown, Airachnid and Steve are not such experts in the sciences, you are the better choice for it."

Starscream, begrudgingly so, conceded to the notion. "Very well then. If I am so needed, then let's get to work." he said, practically shooing away the human's guardians. With the children explaining their projects to him, they got to it.

…

Megatron resigned himself to return to the main console at the front of the bridge, looking over reports from the various scouting parties that had been sent out. Unfortunately, with few troops to spare, very little had been found so far. Luckily, some energon deposits had been discovered in the more rural areas of the planet.

Just as Megatron finished sending a message to the Constructicons of the locations where mines were to be set up, a notification popped up on-screen from Soundwave. It was a simple message, saying, '_Decepticon operative located. Require energon cube for reactivation._'

After explaining the situation to those present on the bridge, Megatron quickly retrieved a cube of the rich blue energy source from the storeroom, and activated a groundbridge to Soundwave's location.

* * *

Onboard the _Lost Light_, Rodimus had finally managed to get some downtime in the midst of all the madness that had unfolded over the previous few days. And a good thing, too, because if he had been in any worse of a mood, he might have snapped when he received a ping from over his commlink.

Usually, Rodimus would be annoyed at being bothered with work during his free time. However, once he heard the news that an energon source had been located, and one on the move no less, he wasn't going to take any chances, and decided to go after it himself. Of course, he would never go alone, and so he managed to scrape up some available crew members to join him.

* * *

"And are you certain of this being the signal of a Decepticon?" Megatron asked. Soundwave and himself were stood amidst many rocky outcroppings in a desert, watching on as Rumble and Frenzy were currently excavating part of the cliffside, with Laserbeak overhead keeping a lookout.

"Affirmative." Came his TIC's reply, "Identity; unknown. Pod analysis; estimated over 600 thousand years of stasis."

"Well, im certainly glad you managed to find another one of us. I'm sure they will be a great help in our continued survival." Megatron said.

It took a while, Megatron having to step in on a few occasions to help with the larger boulders in the way, but in time the two depolyers managed to fully excavate the stasis pod, and pull it out from the rocky enclosure into the daylight. Now they could see that it was a very large pod indeed, big enough for a bot the size of Blackout even, although scans indicate that they were not nearly as massive. And on the front of the pod, its paint chipped and faded, was the Decepticon symbol.

Megatron took the energon cube he had brought with him out of his subspace, and removed it from it's container. He then slotted the shimmering blue cube into the chamber, and watched as it was drained of its contents, and the pod itself began to glow. Then, the seal began to open, the various struts and panels transforming away, revealing the bot before them.

The dark magenta and silver flyer stumbled forwards, and stretched his limbs after so many millennia in stasis. Shuttering his optics a few times, he took notice of the Decepticon commander stood before him. He crossed an arm across his chest, and gave a slight bow.

"Megatron, sir. It's been a long time." the mech said.

"Indeed, Skyquake. Unfortunately, it had to be under such circumstances as these." Megatron repiled.

"Yes, very _unfortunate_." a new voice said.

The gathered Decepticons turned, and were met with Rodimus, his clearly freshly polished paintwork gleaming in the desert sun, and a smug grin plastered on his faceplates, and on either side of him were Bulkhead and Cliffjumper, along with a dozen or so heavy Autotroopers appearing up on the cliff above.

"Well, if it isn't the son of the Prime. I hadn't realised my wake-up call would have such an esteemed guest." Skyquake said sarcastically, as he readied himself for battle. But before he could make a move however, Megatron placed a hand on his shoulder, a way of getting the large flyer to steady himself.

"Rodimus, I shall appeal to you in the same way I did with your sire. It does not have to be this way. We are on a new world, with too much energon-shed between us to continue on. And with what I heard of Ultra Magnus being taken offline, there's no tethers holding you back from taking a different course."

Rodimus merely scoffed at this. "Unfortunately, Magnus isn't dead. And as for putting this war behind us, you've got another thing coming. I may not agree with all my sire does, but his empire will be mine someday, and I can't have a _murderer_ like you running around it any longer!"

The moment the words had been spoken, Megatron knew exactly what he had meant. "I still stand by my innocence in the tragic death of Elita, and you know there was never a proper investiga-"

But reason would not win this time it would seem, as Rodimus lunged forwards, blasting wildly at the gathered Decepticons before him. Closing in on Megatron, he transformed his arms into powerful flamethrowers, and hurled out an intense napalm-like substance onto the Decepticon leader. Megatron let out a faint cry of his pain, the overall experience nothing short of agonising, but he mustered the means to steady his fusion cannon to the now point-blank range Autobot. Rodimus quickly transformed, and raced around Megatron as to avoid being hit, the silver mech now firing wildly as the burning gel stuck to his frame, the substance digging its way into him.

Meanwhile, the Autotroopers had begun to fire at each of the gathered Decepticons, while Cliffjumper went after Soundwave. Lunging forward, he smashed his fish square into Soundwave's chest, knocking him to the ground. He then raised up his arm, as it transformed into a serrated sword.

"Take this you masked freak!" Cliffjumper said, as he thrust the blade downwards, striking into Soundwave's chestplate. However, the sturdy material of the deployer hatch didn't give in. In an instant, it flipped open, smacking Cliffjumper off of him. Soundwave unleashed his data cables, as he grabbed hold of his now stunned opponent, sending a pulse of electricity through them.

With the two Decepticon commanders busy, that only left…

"Skyquake, been a while." Bulkhead said, stalking up to the awakened Decepticon, his fists transforming into spiked energon maces. "How's it feel to spend all that time asleep, just to wake up to your demise?"

"You clearly overestimate your own prowess, Bulkhead." Skyquake said, "I may be a little rusty, but a Predator never loses sight of their prey."

"And a Wrecker never calls for backup, I'll take you on myself!" Bulkhead cried, as he lunged forward, swinging his maces towards his opponent. Skyquake's body worked faster than his processor however, and he grappled hold of spiked bludgeons as they were brought down on him, wincing in pain as he realised that it wasn't the smartest move he could have made. With a great show of force, he shifted his weight in such a way that send Bulkhead stumbling off to one side, and he reached around his back and pulled out a large gatling gun. Opening fire upon the Wrecker, he was sent off stumbling even further back, being pushed up against the cliff where the Autotroopers had been laying down suppressive fire.

Seeing a grand opportunity, Rumble and Frenzy jumped into action. Using his sonic powers, Frenzy scanned through the rocky terrain, and found the perfect weekspot in the cliff face.

"Right slaggin' there, bro." The blue deployer said, pointing to the location in question.

Seeing the spot in question, Rumble transformed his arms into his powerful pile-drivers, and began to shake up the ground around them, watching as the rock face began to crack and give way. Suddenly, the ground slid out from under the Autotrooper's feet. Hearing, and morso feeling the localised earthquake, Bulkhead looked up and around, his optics going wide as he saw the rockslide coming down onto him. Skyquake looked back to the two ex-miners, giving a nod of thanks. And, with an affirmative chirp from Laserbeak, they knew that the coast was clear.

…

Far above the canyonlands where the battle was taking place, an F-35 fighter jet was flying in to investigate the commotion. Silas had managed to intercept a communication from another pilot, and dismissed them to look into the matter himself, since agent Fowler was currently indisposed. As he flew in closer, he could now see the battle taking place below.

…

With the napalm-like gel now fully dissipated, Megatron was left lumbering to try and catch up with the Autobot speedster that kept running circles around him after every attack. It would do well to remember to try and not do battle with Rodimus in open spaces from now on, as his speed and agility had increased greatly since their last one-on-one encounter years ago.

And as if they were heading a silent call for aid, Laserbeak swooped in from above, and blasted at the ground around Rodimus, however, he managed to maneuver around the hastily made obstacles. With a burst of energy, Megatron threw himself forwards into the Rodimus' path, managing to land a punch as he went down, his body too strained for the moment.

Turning around, Rodimus revved up, as he raced towards the fallen Decepticon leader. He transformed, pulling out a short energon blade from his subspace, raising it over his head as he came down. But the final blow would not be struck, as a missile hit Rodimus, and sent him flying back. And from overhead, a fighter jet buzzed passed, and began circling the battlefield.

Just as Silas had arrived, Skyquake, along with Rumble and Frenzy, had gotten back over to where Soundwave was still locked in a stand-off with Cliffjumper, the Autobot weapons-specialist unrelenting in his attacks. It was hard to tell from a distance, but the two of them had clearly been in close combat, as they had many scrapes that dug through their paintwork, the metallic sheen of their bare frames glistening in the sunlight, as Soundwave was being pushed up against the rockface.

Dashing over to where Soundwave was backed into a corner, Skyquake brought out his sword, and cut down the remaining Autotroopers that had been with Cliffjumper, and kicked said Autobot in the lower back, causing him to topple downwards.

Believing their adversaries to be defeated for the moment, they rushed back over to where Megatron still was, down on his knees and gasping up at the sky, catching his breath. But they weren't out of the woods just yet, as the human expression went, as they suddenly heard screaming coming towards them, as they watched as Rodimus, Cliffjumper, and a returned Bulkhead ran towards them from opposite directions. As the Autobots approached, Megatron and Skyquake nodded to each other, an unspoken plan coming to them both. Once they were right on top of them, Megatron exerted the last of his energy to grab hold of Rodimus, just as Skyquake took hold of Cliffjumper, and turned the Autobots' attack against them, as they hoisted them up, spinning them around, and throwing them right into Bulkhead, leaving the three Autobots knocked out instantly.

Then, with a heavy sigh, Megatron fell back to his knees, much more gracefully this time, and sat himself down on the ground, taking the opportunity to rest. Laserbeak, Rumble and Frenzy also took this moment of peace to transform back into Soundwave, the masked mech's deployer hatch cracked and shattered from battle. Before they could signal in for a bridge back to base, the VTOL jet from before finally landed down nearby, and they watched as Silas leapt out of the cockpit, and strode over to the gathered Decepticons. Skyquake, still on high alert, shifted himself to be ready for another attack. Megatron simply held up his hand, signaling that this was no threat to them.

"Your lucky I was here to save your rear end, Megatron. I don't see how much longer you could have survived without backup." Silas said coldly, as he reached the Decepticons.

"Thank you, Colonel Bishop. However, I must ask, what brings you here? Such matters involving us are usually handled by agent Fowler." Megatron asked.

"Ideally, yes. However, Fowler has been held up in D.C. the past week in private hearings with the higher-ups about you Cybertronians and your war." Silas said. He looked up, and realised that he didn't recognise the large magenta and silver flight frame standing there.

"New recruit?" he asked, pointing up at Skyquake.

"No, no. This is Skyquake, leader of the Predators, or 'Squadron X' as some people know them. They are my elite special operations team."

"Uh, nice to meet you." Skyquake said, wearilly. It's not that he did not necessarily distrust the small organic that stood before him, it's just that he sure didn't remember these things back when he first arrived on the planet. He looked over to Silas' jet, doing a quick scan of it, taking in how advanced this species, the "humans" he learned as Soundwave pinged him over comms, just was.

"You don't mind if I…" Skyquake said, gesturing over to the aircraft.

With a sign, Silas agreed, "Fine, fine. Just don't break it. Its experimental tech."

Skyquake scanned the jet once more, this time fully taking in the details of every mechanism and aspect of it. His body quickly moved some panels around, and his cybertronian wings reformed into ones more closely resembling that of the alt-mode he had taken on.

A groaning sound was heard behind them, and they turned around to see that the Autobots wouldn't be out cold for much longer. As if on instinct, Soundwave opened up a ground bridge back to the _Nemesis_. Skyquake, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, helped Megatron back to his pedes, and the Decepticons walked through the bridge back to base.

* * *

Upon returning to the bridge of the _Nemesis_, there was a clear difference in the overall atmosphere of the place. Firstly, the Constructicons were now busy helping out with the kids school projects instead of Starscream. And secondly, there were various colored oils and liquids splattered all over the walls, and even on the ceiling, where the human's raised platform was.

"I'm guessing that, this isn't normal." Skyquake said, observing the, for lack of better terms, disaster zone as he helped Megatron to his chair.

"You can thank ol' Starscream for this mess." Mixmaster said, as he and Raf worked together on what was clearly a new version of the young genius' volcano. "'Seasoned chemist' my aft, maybe if he wasn't so rusty he wouldn't of let this mess all happen."

"Yeah, Scream went total control freak with our projects after you guys left." Miko said, as she was piecing together a new model of Pluto, the last planet for her diorama of the solar system, now help up by Hook's crane. "When he started helping me out, he changed my entire diorama into that of Cybertron's solar system!"

"Yeah, and just smashed her first model, so we've had to start from scratch." Hook said.

"And he tried turning my internal-combustion engine into a small energon reactor." Jack said, as he was fixing up his model motorcycle engine, energon and oil clearly splattered on the walls nearby.

"No way he would have ever even been qualified to do work on such a thing, so I couldn't tell you where he got the crazed idea from." Scrapper said, handing Jack a better-size wrench for what he was working on.

"If he caused all this, then where is the Air Commander now?" Skyquake asked, not seeing him anywhere.

"Confined to quarters." Barricade said, looking up from his terminal. "Temporarily, of course. Just until he cools down, that is."

Megatron had a good chuckle at this, the mental image of Starscream constantly fussing over their work a humorous one indeed.

"No offence boss, but you look like scrap." Hook said, peering over to where their leader was sat. "If I wasn't preoccupied, id drag you down to the medbay myself."

"No, your right. I should go see Knockout. Skyquake, do you mind?" said Megatron

"Not at all, sir." Skyquake said, as he helped Megatron up. As they reached the door, it dawned on him that he had no idea where he was going.

"Don't worry, I can guide you. It would do you well to learn the layout of our base." Megatron said. "And I suppose it would be best to catch you up on events since you were last awake." he continued as he told him the way, and explained all that had happened in his absence.


	11. Chapter 10: The Arctic Find

Far off in the distant North, deep within the Arctic Circle, two lone bots trudged on through the wasteland of snow and ice. Breakdown and Skyquake had been on the hunt for a Cybertronian energy signature for a while now, as a recent storm that had passed through the area must have revealed it.

"Any idea how much further we are from it?" Breakdown asked, keeping a watchful eye on the horizon. He had been on lookout for either Autobots, who no doubt would be able to pick up the same signal that they were tracking, or humans. Soundwave had already scanned ahead, ensuring the two that there were no human outposts in this sector, however he was well aware that human expeditions traverse the icecap regularly enough to be cautious about it.

"Should only be on the other side of this ridge" Skyquake said, pulling out his handheld scanner to double-check.

As they were cresting the top of the icy hill they were on, and began their decent down into a small valley of jagged protrusions, that Skyquake, still lost in checking over his scanner, didn't see that he had stepped onto a sheet of particularly slippery ice, and fell flat on his face as he slid down the bumpy hillside, crashing into and shattering some of the weaker ice formations on his way down, coming to a stop as he slammed into a particularly sturdy one.

Breakdown had been quick, yet ever cautious to follow after him, maneuvering his way down the hill as to not end up in the same way Skyquake had, having learned his lesson from the last time he didn't watch his step. Reaching where his fellow Decepticon had fallen, he helped to get them back on their own two pedes, Skyquake making sure he was on stable ground before making his next move.

It was only then did either of them realise that the scanner had been going off, signifying that they had found what they were after. Skyquake pulled out his large claymore-like sword, and with a greater deal of precision than what he was used to, cut away some of the ice from the formation that he had the displeasure of slamming into, revealing a metal surface underneath.

"Well well well, look what we have here." Breakdown said, using his hammer to bash away the tough ice covering the metal object. After a while, they had taken off enough of the ice to see that it was some sort of cylindrical cargo canister.

"Ok, you grab it from that side, and let's see if we can't get this thing outta here on our own." Breakdown said. They both stood on either side of the pod, digging their hands into the icy embankment to get a good grip under it.

"On the count of 'three', we lift." said Breakdown.

"One… Two… Three!" The two mechs put all their might into holding up the pod, however, it proved to be too heavy for the two of them alone, and the frosted metal made it difficult to get a good grip on it. Not wanting to risk any injury to themselves, they dropped it back down, a small cloud of snow erupting from the impact.

Breakdown pulled out a long-rang communicator, much better suited for dealing with interference from the weather, and called in for a groundbridge.

"Yeah, Soundwave, we found it. Gonna need a bridge, and another heavy-lifter to help get the thing out of here."

. . . . .

With the help of Hook, and his much more powerful crane, they were finally able to get the capsule back through the ground bridge, so that it could be further examined. Back at the base, the weather conditions weren't as bad as the Arctic's, but to the other extreme, as a mid-summer heatwave was currently in affect, and everybody onboard the _Nemesis_ was feeling the heat.

Well, almost everybody, at least, as Breakdown and Skyquake were currently defrosting whilst getting checked over by Knockout in the medbay.

"Luckily you bridged back in time, you two might have been permanently damaged had you been stuck out there long enough," Knockout said, more than a little annoyed that his medbay was slowly filling up.

"I appreciate your concern doctor," Skyquake said, sitting himself upright on his medical berth, "but I can assure you, we're fine. Nothing but a little bit of frost in the joints."

"A little frost in the joints? You wont think its so 'little' when you start to seize up. Thats why im taking you two out of commission for a while to have a proper defrosting procedure. You especially Breakdown."

"If you say so, Knock." Breakdown said, still lying down on his berth. Well aware of his mate's temperament when it came to medical procedure, he knew it would be best to not get in his way.

Knockout sighed, as he gathered up the chemicals needed to whip up a batch of defrosting solvent to scrub his patients with. Having never been to many places with such cold and snowy regions, he had never needed to use such a mixture, so it took him a while of scanning over multiple medical guides to find the correct formula.

"Honestly, I don't know why you even agreed to go on that mission," Knockout said, as he began to coat Breakdown in a waxy gel that would help to fully defrost him, "You know us Velocitronians are not adapted to cold climates."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Skyquake asked, not knowing much of the Cybertronian colony worlds himself.

"Velocitron is a mostly dry, rocky planet. Most of the weather and native lifeforms are at the poles, but for such a barren place, you'd be surprised how often a weather system pushes a storm out across the rest of the planet." Knockout said.

"So, have you learned anything about this Arctic find of ours?" Megatron asked from across the medbay, where he was looking over the pod, now slowly starting to melt, a puddle forming around its base.

"Probably won't be able to open the thing without breaking it," Hook said, examining it himself. "At least until it fully thaws out, that is. But my scans show that whatever is inside, there's a whole lot of them."

"Then perhaps it would be best to not waste time while we wait for it to thaw. I shall send out another search party to see if they can track down anything else in the area," Megatron continued.

But before Megatron could get on comms to find out who was available to head back out into the field, he was being pushed back away from the pod by Hook, a look of grave concern upon his faceplates. "OK everyone, stand clear of this thing," he said.

"Ahhh frag, where's the clean room on this ship again? You know what, bad idea, I'll dump it outside the ship," Hook said hurriedly.

"What's gotten into your processor?" Skyquake said, in awe of the crane's newfound sense of urgency.

Hook glared indignantly to those in the medbay, then remembered that he hadn't even pointed it out yet. "What's gotten into me? That's what." he said, as he quickly paced over to the semi-frosted pod, and pointed to a very brightly colored hazmat symbol, the words "DANGER: SCRAPLETS" written in Cybertronian next to it.

The now deathly silent room suddenly felt as though it had dropped 20 degrees.

"Dear Primus…" Knockout said, agasp.

"Only just noticed it myself, must of been hidden under the ice. And look," he continued, tapping on the container's hatch, "the glass is broken. We gotta get these things outta here, now!"

Using his powerful crane, Hook quickly got a hold of the pod, however struggling due to this being more than a one-bot job, and hurried out of the medbay, screaming to anyone that he saw to clear the way.

. . . . .

Walking down the halls of the Nemesis towards the medbay, where Megatron had asked them to meet with him, Barricade and Airachnid were having a nice chat about the recent going-ons of their rag-tag group of heroes, and Airachnid had just been talking about the certain someone she ran into her first night guarding Jack.

"No way." Barricade said, in a joking manner.

"Yes way, 'Cade. Jack really is June's kid." Airachnid said, almost disbelieving it herself a little.

"Ha ha, isn't it funny how the universe works like that sometimes. And you say you talked with her? How's she doing after all these years?"

"Well… she talked to me, but I just stayed in my alt-mode and said nothing."

"So then, does Jack know he's a second generation 'con kid?"

Airachnid gave a laugh at this, "You know that's a silly name to call our charges. And no, he doesn't know. Not yet at least." she said, as they continued walking on.

Before Airachnid could continue, they heard yelling coming from the direction they were heading. Sure enough, rounding the corner at speed, Hook was in his alternate mode with the large pod that had been found in the Arctic.

"Move it or lose it!" he yelled, as he zoomed right past the two warriors, both of them managing to get out of the way before they were run down by the seemingly crazed medic. Barricade just stared as he watched him keep on driving, until he was out of sight.

. . . . .

Outside, the rest of the constructicons were gathered due to Hook's hasty comm message, telling them to, "Dig the deepest frag-off hole you can, and far away from everything," and they were certainly not enjoying themselves. The hot midday desert sun beat down on them as they continued to dig, now reaching about the three meter mark on the short notice they had.

That was when Mixmaster looked up, and saw Hook running towards them, a strange metal cylinder still dripping with melted ice dangling from his crane boom, and he showed no sign of slowing down.

"How deep is that hole?" Hook yelled out, still halfway between them and the ship itself.

"Three meters, three and a half maybe." Scavenger yelled back from his big excavator alt-mode, as he dumped another bucket full of dirt into Long Haul's dump truck form.

"Need it deeper need it now!" Hook shouted again, as he finally reached where the rest of his team was digging.

"What's the matter, eh? That a casket with some bot who had Cybonic Plague or somethin'?" Long Haul asked.

"Nope. Worse, much slagging worse. It's Primus forsaken _Scraplets_."

The impromptu construction site fell dead, only the sound of the last ice chunks falling off and splatting onto the ground pierced the silence.

Without a word, they all sprang back to life, as Scavenger and Scrapper sped up their digging double-time. Mixmaster transformed into his cement mixer, now understanding why he was asked out to a dig site, and started whipping up some of the toughest quick-drying cement he could. The minutes felt like hours, slowly ticking away with greater intensity. Eventually, Hook began to feel something stirring in the pod. Then more movement, and the sound of buzzing.

"Guys… you'd better be-"

"And we are, 7 meters deep in record time. Drop the fragger in." Scrapper cried.

No sooner than the words were spoken, Hook stood over the pit, and released his hold on the capsule, watching as it fell down with a heavy thud.

And with the pod in the hole, Mixmaster backed up to it, and quickly poured in the cement, exactly enough to fill it to the top, completely sealing the scraplets in their tomb.

With the job done, the Constructicons gave out a collective sigh of relief, now knowing that there was no chance of the tiny monsters escaping without any metal to chew through.

"Well then," Hook said, as he sat himself on the dusty ground, "I'd better comm. Megatron, let him know that the situation has been taken care of."

* * *

Darkness. That was all he could see, nothing but inky black nothingness. He tried to open his optics, but he was just too drained of energy to do so.

'_Where… am I?_" he thought to himself, lost within the recesses of his own processor.

Slowly, he began to move, the internal warmth of his spark still the only thing he could feel.

Then he heard it. The faint clicking of metallic limbs, scuttering around close by.

That was when something else took over, as if he was possessed by his millions of years worth of instincts, Skywarp felt a great surge of energy within him, and like lightning he lurched up from his berth, looking around for where that dreaded creature was.

Then he saw the scraplet, mouth wide open, eating through the berth he was laid on. Skywarp, in an act of desperation, leaped off of his berth, hovering in mid-air a few feet off the ground, and raised both arms and let loses a great many null-ray blasts upon the infernal creature. When he was done, the scraplet was long dead, nothing left of it, and the medical berth was in ruins.

Suddenly, bursting in from the main room of the medbay, was Knockout and Megatron.

"What in the Pit is going on in-" was all that Knockout could muster before he laid eyes upon the seeker levitating before him, in shock that Skywarp was of all things glowing, as if his frame had miraculously grown many more bio-lights, but no, that wasn't the case.

Skywarp had a look of embarrassment on his face. "Uhh, sorry about the berth, Doc." he said bashfully, as he descended to land. However, once he did reach the floor, he felt as though he was still flying, as if most of his weight had left his frame.

It was Megatron who stepped towards him first, ever so cautious about this strange phenomena. He reached out to grab a hold of part Skywarp's arm that was affected by the strange purple glow, but found that his hand went right through him. What proved even stranger, was that when Megatron tried to touch a part of Skywarp's chest, it was solid, yes, but his hand still phased into the seeker a little ways.

Skywarp, still confused by such strange events, wasn't sure what to make of the situation. "Oh… oh Pit, that's not good I'm guessing," he said.

* * *

A bright flash erupted in the sky over the Earth's moon, as a small bot-sized pod appeared, and began its descent to the surface. Had it not been for the low gravity, the impact from falling such a distance would have surely damaged the teleportation pod greatly.

But Brainstorm wasn't all too focused on that. He instantly remembered the similar arrival he had back in Iacon.

"Ah scrap, not again…"

* * *

**A/N: Gee, you'd think they would label a container of all-consuming scrap demons.**


	12. Chapter 11: Warped Out

"Skywarp, whatever you do, don't panic-"

"Don't panic? Knockout, I'm a fragging GHOST right now! What other reaction would you expect of any sane bot?" Skywarp shouted back at the medic.

"Skywarp, please. Just calm down so we can try and figure this out... whatever _this _is, anyway." Megatron said, attempting to rest a reassuring hand on shoulder of his distraught soldier, however having to hold it where it should have rested on his once solid frame.

"And besides, if you really were a ghost, there would at least be some remains of your body here, even after you blew up the berth," Knockout said, gesturing to the mess that would have to be cleaned up at some point.

"And, again, sorry about that, but there was a Scraplet! It could have eaten me!"

Megatron and Knockout looked at each other for a moment, and silently decided over comms that now was not the best time to inform Skywarp of the scraplet problem.

"But yes, as Megatron said, lets just figure this all out first," Knockout said as he ushered the ghostly seeker out of the secondary room and back into the main medbay. Once in the main medbay, Breakdown and Skyquake, along with the recently arrived Airachnid and Barricade could only stare on in confusion as to the sign before them.

"Skywarp, what the Pit happened to you?" Barricade asked, stepping forward to check over his odd new frame. Skywarp simply swatted him away.

"Well, I guess I'm a ghost now." he said.

"No, Skywarp, you are very much not dead," Knockout said with an exasperated tone.

Skywarp let out a heavy sigh as he was able to sit down on one of the empty medical berths, relieved that the more solid parts of his body were keeping him grounded.

"So, you gonna tell me how long I've been out for?"

"Well, it's the earth month of August now, and I believe it was around… late May, early June when you went under, so roughly three months, give or take." Knockout said, grabbing a medical scanner.

"Oh. That's not too bad, I guess…" Skywarp said, as the blue medic scanned him over.

"But it was however a very preventable incident, had you not stressed yourself to the point of a spark-attack. Any worse, you very well could have been dead."

Skywarp could only hang his head in regret, "That bad, huh?"

Knockout went over Skywarp few more times with his scanner, finding nothing that would contribute to his strange condition.

"Tell me, what do you remember from when you first woke up?" Knockout asked.

"I… remember it being dark. Maybe my optics were still offline, maybe I was still out cold, I don't know. All I could feel at first was the faint warmth of my spark, and then… a voice. Not mine, but a very soothing, calming voice, telling me to wake up, I think. And then BAM, a sudden rush of energy hit me. And then, ya' know, here we are."

"A rush of energy you say? That would certainly explain your unexpected awakening, as there had been little word of improvement from either Knockout or Hook." Megatron said.

"I'll have to do some looking into what would have caused this, but for now, there's not much I can do for you Skywarp," Knockout said, placing his medical equipment away. "I'd say for you to not stress yourself, but it's as if all your previous wounds have healed. No jammed T-Cog, your warp-core is intact, and from how you held yourself walking in, you won't even need your cane anymore."

"So, I'm free to go?" Skywarp asked.

"Yes, I suppose I can't keep you if you don't have any problems."

"Thanks, doc." Skywarp said, as he leaped down off the berth, and started walking towards the medbay doors.

"One last thing, Skywarp," Megatron said.

"Your brothers have been worried the most about you, I'd advise you check on them first."

Skywarp grinned, and nodded to his commander. "Will do, boss." The glowing purple seeker said, as he practically hovered off the ground as he strode out to find his trinemates.

. . . . .

In the officer's corridor, Starscream and Thundercracker were sitting alone in their shared quarters passing by the hours of some of their well-earned off time. However, the two warriors were always on high alert, what with the Autobots seemingly in hiding since their battle during the discovery of Skyquake.

Starscream had been trying to read through some old Vosnian books and manuscripts that he had managed to save when their city-state fell to the Autobots. 'Trying' being the key term, as every few minutes, Thundercracker pounded away at his keypad at his computer, with some sort of addition or revision to his next play.

"Honestly Thundercraker, must you use such a clunky means of writing your scripts? Surely a stylus and datapad would be easier." Starscream said.

"I find this to feel nicer. It allows the imagination to run from my processor, through my digits, and onto the screen in front of me." the blue and silver seeker replied, turning in his chair to face his brother.

"Yes, how poetic of a wordsmith you are." Starscream jabbed, as he returned to his reading.

Then, from just outside their quarters, they heard a faint shriek.

"Holy scrap!" Thundercracker said, as he was the first to get up and race for the door, Starscream just behind him. They exited their room, and stood out in the middle of the empty hallway, and saw Steve huddled up against the wall, trying to hide behind one of the support beams, his integrated weaponry locked and loaded.

"Steve, what happened to you?" Starscream said as they rushed over to him.

"A g-ghost… There was a-a-a ghost out here! It was Skywarp, I'm sure of it!" the blue vehicon stammered.

"What do you mean a ghost? He's not dead… is he?" Thundercracker said.

"Of course he's not dead, we would have been informed of it." Starscream said.

Then, there was a solid thud heard behind them. Turning around, they saw lying on the ground in fractured pieces was a red, dusty rock from the mesas outside.

"What the Pit…"

Suddenly, the lights began to flicker, and the low rumble of jet engines was heard all around them. Then, in a flash of purples and pinks, the ghostly figure of Skywarp appeared, hovering in front of them.

"Its… its…" Thundercracker tried to say, as he and Starscream huddled together before the assumed spectre. Steve simply started to walk backwards slowly, getting away from the spirit altogether.

"Yes, it really is!" Starscream said, letting the panic take over.

"It IS me, brothers, and now I have come for YOU!" Skywarp said, and launched towards them, arms outstretched to grab them.

But the two would not meet their grizzly demise, as Skywarp simply grabbed them both in his spectral arms, and pulled them in for a hug, as Steve and himself started bursting with laughter.

"Oh-oh Primus, you should have seen the looks on your faceplates!" Steve said, doubling over.

"Ah, probably my finest prank yet. Thanks for the assist, Steve." Skywarp said, as the two fist-bumped.

"No problem at all," Steve said, before he walked off back to his own quarters, still chuckling along the way.

"So, how are you two? I hope my absence hasn't made your lives boring as all Pit." Skywarp said, as he finally let go of his brothers, who were still in a bit of a shock.

It was Starscream who broke down first, "Dont, don't ever do that again…" he said, as he gave his brother another quick hug.

"And there is something you'll want to see," Thundercracker said.

The three brothers walked back into their shared quarters, with Skywarp at the back. When his two brothers stepped aside, it revealed his berth, covered in gifts and get-well-soon messages.

"Wow…"

"Something from everyone whos fought alongside you. Your one of the more cheery, up-beat mechs on board, so things have been very dull without you around. Welcome back, Skywarp." Starscream said affectionately.

"And I got you something as well," Thundercracker said. From his desk, he pulled out a human-sized box, filled with dozens of DVD cases. "I know how much you enjoy Earth media, so I asked the kids for some recommendations. Steve helped me get these, he drove us in our holomatter avatars to get them, with some money we might owe back to Agent Fowler. Perhaps, we could all watch them together?"

Skywarp lit up at that, a big grin across his face-plates. "Sounds great, guys. I'd like that a lot."

And so, the seekers three got themselves comfortable, and spent the rest of their day watching through all the movies the kids, mostly Miko though, had recommended to them, and Skywarp made sure to look over all his get-well-soon gifts. Spread throughout, bots came and went, welcoming Skywarp back, each time getting a shock out of seeing his new spectral body.

. . . . .

In the medbay, Knockout, along with Hook, who had now returned from disposing of the scraplets, had quite the head-scratcher on their hands. From preliminary medical scans alone, neither of them would've ever been able to get far with this mystery. But luckily for them, Skywarp having described his awakening as being a 'rush of energy', it gave them a decent idea of what to go with.

Knockout made his way to the medical berth that Skywarp had been placed upon when he first fell into his comatose state. There, still up on it's stand, was the energon IV pouch that had been connected to Skywarp. It was empty, which was strange, as he had attached it to seeker just before he came back online.

"His systems must have drained it for every drop…" he muttered to himself. It would certainly explain the overload that forced him back online. It also wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume all that energon hitting his system at once would be enough to jumpstart his warp-core, but still, that would only work if it wasn't damaged in the first place. And considering how he was all fixed up when he last checked him over, it truly was a mystery.

Looking closer, however, he found small remnants of pale blue crystals of unrefined energon, a very unstable substance in of itself.

Returning to his main workstation in the medbay, he showed his find to the more seasoned medic.

"Hmm… definitely from one of the newer batches that were mined here on Earth." Hook said, as he turned the IV pouch over in his hands. Then, he saw something rather odd in it. He brought it over to a microscope, and began looking to see if he could find out just what it was.

"That's… not right." Hook said, as he extracted the small crystalline sample, and set it down on a separate tray.

"What is it?" Knockout asked.

"Well, its structured the same way an energon crystal is. Just two problems with that. One, its white, and energon does not come in that color. And two, I'm getting readouts of this thing being a lot more potent than normal energon." Hook replied.

"Do you think this is just what we need to jumpstart our special guests?" Knockout asked, referring to the three Decepticons that currently resided in stasis pods in the other room.

"I'm not sure, but I hope so. I'll be sure to get Mixmaster in to better analyze this… super energon sometime later. But for now, I'll talk to the miners, see if I can't find out just where that stuff came from."

* * *

**The Lost Light: Somewhere on Earth's Moon**

"Ok, so. Run that by me again, but slower. And with less big science words." Rodimus said, as he stopped pacing around Brainstorm's lab and took a seat, exhausted just from trying to comprehend the mech's words.

"Alright, here is this pod, the one I made to teleport a bot back to Cybertron," Brainstorm said, tapping on his invention with his knuckles. "But, then I had an idea; why not just make two pods and have one at both the Lost Light, and in Iacon. That way, we can get reinforcements whenever we need them!"

"That still doesn't explain why we will be using this, and not a Space Bridge." Prowl said from where he was leaned up against a wall.

"Because, my dear copper," Brainstorm said, as he pulled up a holographic map of the galaxy from his table. "We are here," he continued, pointing to where Earth was. "And allll the way back over here, is Cybertron. Now, thats a lot of space. And as nice of a thing spacebridges are, they have their limits."

"So, they can't just go anywhere?" Rodimus asked.

"Not exactly, no." Nautica began, stepping forward. "The one you had back over Cybertron was your oldest, most reliable one you had. And the last one, until Metroplex wakes up. But, the further the distance, the more unstable the portal you have, and you use up more power to keep it running." she said, as she pulled up a holovid clip of the _Nemesis_' escape through the portal over Cybertron, clearly taken from the perspective of the _Ark._

"How the Pit did you get this footage?" Prowl asked in an annoyed tone.

"Eh, I have my ways." Brainstorm said.

"So, was there any word about fixing the space bridge at all?" Rodimus asked.

"Not as long as Cybertron remains in the state it's in. Most if not all factories are shifted towards military production, and with so little of the space bridge left intact after the 'Cons blew it up, it's gonna be a long while until anybody comes directly from Cybertron." Brainstorm said.

Rodimus let out a heavy sigh, as he stood up.

"Welp, it's good to have you back aboard, Brainstorm." Rodimus said.

"Ah, don't mention it. But you should really be thanking Nautica here for keeping things running while I was away."

"Oh, don't worry, I have. However, magic seems to happen when the both of you work together, so hopefully you can keep up the good work." Rodimus said, as he and Prowl left Brainstorm's workshop.


	13. Chapter 12: The Stunti-convoy

That morning on the _Nemesis_ had been a calm one, a nice change of pace from the past week's events. First was Skywarp's strange new ghostly form, to which the medical staff of the ship had attributed the cause to a strange substance overcharging his warp-core. Then there was the rise in Autobot sightings and skirmishes, as they had gotten bold enough to start going after human facilities again.

But alas, for Megatron, the few moments of peace never seem to last long, as he was summoned to the bridge on call from Soundwave, about an urgent message from the Decepticon's government handlers.

Stepping onto the bridge, he saw his pale purple communications officer standing by.

"Put them on, Soundwave." Megatron said, as he stood before the large screen.

Within an instant, it flickered to life, revealing Agent Fowler and Silas, behind them sat a very injured looking Blackout, who Hook was repairing the wounds of.

"Greetings, Agent Fowler, Colonel Bishop. Would you care to explain to me how one of my troops came to be injured?" Megatron said, suppressing a hint of anger he felt swelling up.

"That's just the thing, Megatron. I doubt you'll like the answer," Fowler said, "But it was a group of humans that managed to take him down."

"The outfit known as MECH, to be specific. I used to head their operations, but more radical members went rouge and they broke off from the military. We've done our best to bring them in, but they are a persistent bunch." Silas said coldly.

Megatron scowled. The Autobots he could handle, but a rouge human faction? Unpredictable.

"So tell me, how exactly did you get to a point where you all would be at such a risk from this 'MECH'?" Megatron asked.

"They tried a smash and grab for the DINGUS. It's an experimental nuclear energy source we were transporting to a lab east of the Rockies for testing. And that's where we could use your help on this one, " said Fowler. "We were hoping to use that ground-bridge of yours to try and move it without worrying about another attack."

"Negative," Soundwave butted in, "Observation; DINGUS is highly volatile. Taking it through a ground bridge could distort the portal, causing a deadly outcome."

"Well, you got any better ideas?" Fowler asked.

It took Megatron a moment to think, but he didn't have to for long, as only one team was equipped for the job.

"Yes, I think I have the perfect answer to your problem…"

. . . . .

With the swirling vortex of the groundbridge now closed behind them, after Hook escorted Blackout through, the Stunticons, along with Skyquake, who was along for aerial support, were left standing before Agent Fowler and Silas in a clearing off to the side of the road, tall trees and mountains as far as the eye could see.

Silas rolled his eyes at the sight stood before him. "When Megatron had said he was sending us a team, I wasn't expecting him to send us his stunt-performers, their medic, and a flier whos been asleep for a few millennia," he said roughly.

"Trust me, Colonel," Knockout said with a faux salute, "I may be a healer, but I'm not afraid to get my hands a little dirty."

"Yeah, and we're the best road-based mechs around. You can count on us to get this DINGUS all the way to the finish line." said Drag Strip, the black and chrome speedster was almost too enthusiastic about this mission.

"And your certain it's not because your leader turns into a very big truck?" Silas deadpanned.

"Fair enough, but I'm the only big truck the 'Cons have, so ya'd better not give me trouble." Motormaster said, as he surveyed the immediate surroundings, his optics coming to land on a crate that was covered in various warning labels.

"I take it that'll be the special cargo?" Motormaster asked, as he walked over to it.

"Yes it is, so be extremely careful with it," Fowler said.

The Stunticon leader got down and transformed, as Breakdown and Skyquake hefted his large trailer into position, and loaded the DINGUS inside.

"I hope you don't mind me riding cab?" Fowler asked, "Just want to make sure all goes well."

"Not a problem, but ya gonna be ridin' shotgun on this trip." Motormaster said, as in hs driver's seat, his holomatter avatar formed before them, a gruff looking, tanned skin older man in basic jeans and patterned gray shirt, with a cowboy hat and a bushy mustache. "Best to keep as incognito on this trip as we can be." he said.

"And I take it you shall be accompanying me in the air, seeing as my alternate mode is of your own aircraft?" Skyquake asked, looking down at Silas.

"Astute observation, Skyquake, was it?" Silas said, as he watched the large flightframe transform, and hopped up into the cockpit.

"Alrighty boys, let's get this show on the road!" Motormaster bellowed, as he started to roll away from the clearing they were in.

"Oh boy, I've sure been itching for some time out on the open road!" Wildrider exclaimed, as he transformed into his sleek red and white sports car mode. The rest of them followed suit, and they formed their convoy as they reached the open highway. In order, there was Dead End and Wildrider up in front, then Motormaster, followed by Dragstrip, Breakdown and Knockout taking up the rear. And flying up high, trying to stay hidden behind the ridgeline just above the road, was Skyquake and Silas, keeping a lookout for anybody looking to try and take on the convoy.

. . . . .

"Coordinates: Locked in. Observation: Should there be no further complications, they will arrive at their destination no later than sundown." Soundwave said.

"Excellent news. However, given what information has been given to us, I doubt that MECH would give up so easily."

"Do you think Breakdown and the others will be ok?" Miko asked from across the room, leaning against the railing in suspense.

"That, I cannot be sure of," Megatron said. "MECH is an unknown enemy to us, and the Stunticons have a history of being too head-strong in their operations."

. . . . .

"Come one, move it rustheap!" Dead End shouted out, as he blared his horn loudly. For the past 30 odd minutes, the convoy had been stuck behind an old and rusty pickup truck, that showed no sign of speeding up anytime soon. And without a shoulder or passing lane on the winding mountain road, they just had to wait it out.

The Stunticon in question went so far as to activate his holomatter avatar, that being a young looking lighter skinned man in a purple racing jumpsuit that had similar decals to his paint job and a red headband, and leaned out his window to extend his middle finger, a rude gesture he had picked up from the busy streets of bigger cities he had patrolled in.

From Motormatster's cab, all agent Fowler could do was facepalm, whilst the truck let out a sigh at the sight of what his teammate was doing out in front.

"So much for a low profile," Fowler lamented.

"Eh, ya' just gotta get used to their antics." Motormaster said, giving the agent a friendly slap on the shoulder.

Thankfully, they didn't have to keep their pace down, as after a few more infuriating minutes, that felt like an eternity to the speeders of the group, the old truck pulled over the moment there was a shoulder in sight. Whilst Dead End and Wildrider instantly sped up, Mototmaster just honked his horn in thanks, and the convoy carried onwards.

Suddenly, Agent Fowler's walkie-talkie crackled to life.

"Hate to rain on your parade, Fowler. But I've got eyes on bogeys inbound, the same ones who came after us before." Silas said, as he peered down from above.

Sure enough, a loud revving of engines was heard, and pulling up next to the convoy was four identical dull green cars with black markings. Before the Decepticons could react, the MECH agents broke off, and moved to varying positions surrounding the group.

/Dead End, Wildrider, reel your sorry afts in and close the gap, I don't want these jokers gettin' in between our defenses./ Motormaster said over comms. /Knockout, how ya' holding up back there?/

/Not good. Two more MECH vehicles just pulled up behind me, and one of those sports cars is trying to run me into the mountain./ came the Medic's response.

With one behind, and one to his left, Knockout kept getting bashed about by the rival drivers, trying to take him off the road. "Hey, watch the finish!" he shouted at them, as he swerved, and bashed into the car on his left. However, this left an opening on his right side, and the two remainers on his tail drove up alongside, continuing the routine.

Thinking fast, Knockout slammed his brakes on hard, and let the two MECH drivers ram right into each other. While they were disoriented, Breakdown took the opportunity to activate his roof-mounted canon, and blasted at them, forcing them to break off from their attack.

"Thanks for the save, dear."

"Not a problem, Knock. Let's just keep it up."

Meanwhile, Dead End and Wildrider pulled back, and tightened the gaps to make sure they couldn't get cut off from each other. But, coming barreling down from the hillside, a heavily armored off-roader slammed right into Wildrider, sending him into a spinout.

"Ahh, frag!" he cried, as he slammed into the roadside barrier, feeling the metal boundary buckle under his weight, and couldn't stop himself from looking over and seeing just how far of a drop that would have been.

"Ah, slaggit." Motormaster said, as the offroader moved into position between Dead End and himself. Then, he shifted his cab, and from both sides of the truck's grill, two blasters appeared. Without warning, he started firing away at the MECH vehicle in front of him. Luckily, he got in a few good shots, as it began smoking, and they veered off the side of the road into a tree.

"One down, too many more to go," he grumbled.

"Fowler, look out! They have a chopper coming in over you." Silas yelled out over the open comms.

Peering out the window, Fowler watched as an all black military-grade attack helicopter descended over Motormaster. From up above, five MECH operatives dropped down on top of the trailer, all in combat armor, full face-masks, and packing serious firepower.

Fowler first reached for his pistol, and after patting himself down, realised he didn't have it on him.

"Damnit, I must have left my sidearm with Blackout." he said.

"Glovebox, that's where I keep mine." Motormaster said, as he started veering back and forth, trying to shake the unwanted guests from atop him.

Fowler opened it up, and found a human-sized handgun, but still clearly Cybertronian in origin.

"How is it-"

"Small? That's the wonders of subspace tech, just don't lose the thing."

Thankfully, agent Fowler had years of special ops training, so his next move might have been dangerous, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He opened up the cab door, and shimmied his way down the side of the tuck, where he found another masked MECH troop trying to unhitch the trailer with some sort of advanced laser cutter.

"Drop it now, faceless." Fowler said.

The MECH operative jolted up, and made a dash for Fowler,attempting to use the cutter to take out the seasoned agent. Fowler reacted fast, putting a blaster shot into the operative's shoulder, and pushed the laser cutter upwards to smack him in the face, and then grabbed him by the collar, and held him out over the side of Motormaster.

"Info. Now. Who are you working for?" Fowler demanded of the MECH agent whose life he held in his hands.

The operative only let out a short but sinister laugh, "Uncle Sam won't get anything out of me," they said, as he pulled out a knife from behind his back, and stabbed at Fowler's hands. Recoiling in pain, he accidentally let go of the MECH operative, and he watched as he hit the road one last time.

"Fowler, come in." Silas said on open comms. It was painful, but Fowler managed to hold his walkie steady. "I'm here. What's the situation looking like from up top?" he said, the pain apparent in his voice.

"We can't shoot down that helicopter until it's cleared away from the DINGUS. I would much rather _not_ be responsible for turning half the Rockies into a nuclear hellsite."

"Leave that to me." Fowler said, as he aimed upwards at the helicopter, and sent off a few wayward shots, hoping to be able to hit somebody. And sure enough, he managed to get one as they were on their descent, their limp body falling onto the roof of the trailer.

With the pain becoming ever more intolerable by the minute, Fowler thought it best to get out of the line of fire. And with a few well placed shots up at the helicopter, he lumbered his way back into Motormaster's cab, blood staining everything he touched.

"Ah Primus," Motormaster said, "What happened to ya'?"

"You see that guy who fell off the back of you?"

"Yeah, he did all that, huh? Sorry to say, I don't got bandages on me, but I'd bet Knockout does."

Then, over the sound of screeching tyres and gunfire, the low rumble of a jet engine was heard. Looking up, they saw Skyquake making his descent towards them.

/We cannot risk waiting any longer for them to break away, I'll do my best to drive them off./ came the flyer's message. Skyquake, much to the protest of Silas, flew in low, fitting himself in between the trailer and the helicopter. This bought them some time, as flying in so low knocked off the MECH operatives still on top of Motormaster. The dark magenta fighter jet than rolled upwards, clipping the bottom of the helicopter with the tips of his wing.

"Just what the hell do you think your doing?" Silas cried.

"Trust me, Colonel. I'm sure I have plenty more flight experience than you," came Skyquake's reply.

Whoever was piloting the helicopter quickly came to their senses, and finally broke off from the convoy, flying out over the edge of the cliffs. With the Stunticons having taken care of MECH's drivers, they were almost home free. However, MECH wasn't done just yet, as the helicopter let loose a few missiles in a last act of desperation. Before anyone could even see what they had aimed for, Skyquake pelted them with a few bursts of flak, making the enemy helicopter start to smoke, and they watched as it descended down the mountains, clearly desperate to find a place to land.

"Ha ha, yes!" Motormaster hollered, and blared his horn in victory. But, they wouldn't be celebrating for long.

/Everyone, brakes on! Those missiles took out the bridge up ahead./ Silas shouted out over comms. And sure enough, looking out across the ridge, a column of smoke was coming up from where there should have been a bridge. Needless to say, the expert drivers managed to slow to a halt in no time. It also gave Knockout a chance to switch over to his holoform, a young man in a white doctor's coat with basic red medical symbols, combat boots, military-style garb under his coat, and short, jet black hair, and dashed over to where Fowler sat leaned against Motormaster's cab, looking back at all the carnage left behind.

"Gonna be a helluva report back to General Bryce for this one…" he muttered.

"You can worry about reports later, agent Fowler," Knockout said as he went about treating the special agent's wounds. He hadn't had much practice with human medicine so far, but the basics were similar to that of a Transformer, so he managed. "Right now, you need a good long rest. Doctor's orders."

"So, how are we gonna get the cargo to the dropzone now?" Drag Strip asked.

"I'll contact base, let them know to send the Constructicons. They should have this fixed up in no time." Knockout said.

* * *

Far down in the valley below, the remains of the downed helicopter lied a smoking wreck. When they were first hit, they knew they had to land, but what they hadn't realised just how much damage had been done to them, as the ride became a lot more bumpy on the way down.

"MECH-1 to base, come in,"

/Go for base, MECH-1. You'd better have some good news for me./

"Unfortunately not, Doctor. However, we have discovered something else."

/Oh? Well, go on then./

"The convoy protecting the DINGUS was certainly not civilian drivers as we first expected, and they showed very combative driving tactics when we tried to take them out. However, the most unexpected incident was when the big rig… transformed, for a lack of better terms. Its front flipped open, revealing twin sets of high-powered machine guns. And the government agent, most likely one of the same ones from our previous attempt to capture the DINGUS, had what appeared to be a laser pistol of all things."

/Hmm… very interesting. I'll send a pickup to the nearest roadway to you. Burn whatever is left behind, we cant let people get onto out trail./

"Of course, Doctor. Over and out."

And after loading the corpses of other operatives onto the wreckages of the helicopter, they dosed it in gasoline, and made haste in their disappearance.

* * *

After the few hours it took for the Contstructicons to finish building a new bridge, that seemed to be just as good as the old one, the Stunticons and Skyquake managed to get on their way to their destination, albeit later than expected, without any more interference from MECH, and were especially thankful that no civilians had been present to witness said events. And, after their long, grueling day, the Decepticons were enjoying a return to relaxation that evening.

All, that is, except for Megatron. He had spent many hours of the night, along with Soundwave, pouring over the case files that agent Fowler and Silas had provided them with on MECH. He had a lot to learn about this new enemy, for he feared that this would not be the last time they fought.


	14. Chapter 13: Predator

Late in the dead of night, all is calm. But such serenity wouldn't last, for had there been anyone around looking up to the stars on that cold, early October night, they would have seen four streaks of flame, as great forms of metal plummeted down to Earth. One of which, that being the largest, veered off from the others, and stuck down further away, instantly vaporizing the surrounding woodlands, and searing the ground that it tumbled and crashed down upon.

* * *

"So, what are we out here looking for exactly?" Jack asked to Airachnid, as the pair wandered through the forested mountains. It was a nice change of pace from the deserts and mesas of Nevada, but one thing he wasn't enjoying was all the bugs biting at him.

"Soundwave picked up Cybertronian energy signatures entering the atmosphere last night, so he sent us ahead to scout it out," came Airachnid's reply.

She looked down at the sound of a slap, and a faint "ow" coming from Jack, and Airachnid couldn't help but laugh.

"You know Jack, I thought you got along with insects, given present company and all." Airachnid teased.

"Oh, ha ha, real funny," Jack said sarcastically, "But next time, I'll definitely try and remember to check if the bug spray works."

"Well, don't you have anything else in that bag of yours?" Airachnid asked, gesturing to the backpack Jack had with him.

"Oh, just basic survival stuff incase of an emergency. Fire-starter, first-aid kit, that sort of thing."

"You are certainly more of an outdoorsman than I was expecting." the spider-bot commented.

"Yeah, well, mom took me camping a few times when I was younger. But with her busy at work a lot more now, and me dealing with high school and my job, it's been a long time since."

Airachnid could only let her mind drift off, remembering the fond times spent just being out in the middle of nowhere with June, much like she was now. She was still very hesitant to tell Jack about how she had known his mother, but Airachnid was sure the time would come.

"So, what was it like?" she asked on a whim, with nothing else coming to mind as they walked towards their target.

"It was always great," Jack said, a smile coming back to his face. "We would just drive out to the nearest campsite, or where ever seemed nice, and just spend the night out under the stars, watching the world go by."

'_Oh yeah, definitely June's kid,_' Airachnid thought to herself.

The spider-bot was soon pulled from her thoughts, as the pair came upon what they had been sent to find. Lying in the middle of a burned out clearing, was a crashed Cybertronian ship.

"Well, that's our mystery energy signal solved," Airachnid said. "Hang back, Jack. I don't want you getting hurt incase whoever's in there somehow survived that impact."

"Avoiding death by evil giant robots? No problem." Jack said, as he went over and sat down under one of the lesser charred trees nearby.

It was a little tricky at first, moving across the rough terrain left by the ship's crash landing, but Airachnid's spider form made maneuvering it all the more easier. As she got closer, she could tell by the design that this was very much an Autobot ship, even if there were no obvious identifying markers on the exterior.

Coming around to the entrance, Airachnid found that the door had been left wide open, a clear sign that someone was here recently. She transformed her hands into blasters, in the event that she happened upon any Autobots still inside, and entered into the dimly lit shuttle. Thankfully for her, Insecticon optics were well adapted for seeing just fine in the dark.

Looking around, she saw an Autobot symbol next to the open door into the cockpit of the ship, however there wasn't anybody in their. Moving on, she entered the main room of the ship, where she saw various weapons and frame mods hung up on the walls, and that wasn't counting the storage crates filled with blasters and ammo. And mounted on a gleaming plaque at the far end of the room, was the severed head of a large Insecticon warrior, and the memories came flooding back to her…

_Cybertron was on the verge of falling, and Tarn was burning. The once powerful mining city lay in smouldering ruins, as the flames climbed higher on the skyscrapers, and the Autobots continued their unrelenting siege of the city that had been going on for countless years now. Airachnid thought they would be safe underground. She thought that the Insecticon Hive's vast network would save so many lives. But when the bombs struck the mines, collapsing all the entry points into Tarn, the Autobots drilled straight down to them, that monster's red optics the first thing anyone saw as she dropped down, and the last thing so many innocent lives would witness… _

No, this wasn't an armoury at all. What she was looking at was a trophy room, and there was only one Autobot that had such an obsessive collection…

Rushing back outside, she was greatly relieved to find Jack still sat under a tree, currently doing something on his phone.

"Oh thank Primus your still here, still safe..." Airachnid said, as she scooped up her human charge in her hands, taking him off guard.

"Uh, well yeah. Other than no signal out here, I'm fine. Are you ok? You seem, panicked," asked Jack, now a little on edge from his partner's behavior.

"No, Jack. I'm not ok," Airachnid said hurriedly, as she dashed back over to the ship. "I know the… the monster who this belongs to, and if she's here, there's no telling what-"

"Woah woah, slow down there. There's a dangerous bot who even you are afraid of, and we are running towards their ship?"

"We have to make sure its disabled, and for good. We can't let her use any of her resources, because she will win." she said, as they reached the back of the ship. Luckily for her, there was already a small energon leak, meaning this will be all the more easy. Using the delicate motions of her extra limbs, she managed to widen where the leak was coming from, and watched as the fuel started to flow evermore freely.

"Ok, so this thing is gonna get blown sky-high? Who even is this bot if she's so dangerous?" asked Jack, as Airachnid didn't let up on her protecting grasp on her human charge, as she ran for cover.

"Her name is Arcee, the best assassin in the Autobots. And I had hoped to never see her ugly faceplate again." Airachnid said, as she transformed her free hand, and fired off a few rounds at the ship's engine, and watched in awe at the great explosion that followed.

After waiting a few moments for the dust and debris to settle, she got back up out of the ditch, and set Jack down so she could transform.

"Come on. If Arcee is anywhere close to us, she would of heard that."

And with nothing else said, Jack climbed onto the motorbike, and they sped off into the woods, hoping to get back to the nearest main road.

. . . . .

Arcee traced their movements from the scope of her sniper rifle as they fled the scene. First the three escaped prisoners landed on this desolate rock, and now her dearest rival shows up? It's as if the universe just kept on giving.

She slung her rifle back over her shoulder, and leapt down from her perch in the treetops. Freefalling, she transformed into her helicopter mode before she hit the ground. Now, the hunt was on.

* * *

"So, we can't just call for a ground bridge because?" asked Jack.

"Because knowing Arcee, she would be quick and cunning enough to get through the portal, probably even before we did. That's why I've commed back to Soundwave, and asked him to send us some fliers for support. Because unless you can magically fly now, Arcee will have the upper hand." Airachnid said, as she continued her quickened pace through the woods.

That's when a faint signal popped up on Arachnids sensors, and a Decepticon distress beacon no less. She quickly veered to the right, and started to follow the way to whoever was transmitting it.

"Uh, Airachnid? The roads back the other way," Jack said.

"I'm picking up a Decepticon distress signal, but its faint and slowly fading."

"Well, Soundwave did say there were multiple signals. You think this 'Con came here because of Arcee?"

"Who knows. But if Arcee is hunting down Decepticons, they must have been travelling for a long time to reach Earth," Airachnid replied, as she slowed down to avoid crashing into a fallen tree. But soon after, she stopped in her tracks entirely.

"Jack, do you hear that?"

"Yeah, sounds like a helicopter. Maybe it's Blackout?"

"No, Blackout is much bigger, and has a deeper thrum to his propellor than this. It has to be Arcee." Airachnid said, as she bumped Jack off her, and transformed back to her bipedal mode.

"The distress beacon is coming from that direction," she said, pointing to where rocky outcroppings become more frequent as the slope of the mountain gets steeper. "Make a run for it, and take this. For incase the 'Con you find is injured." she finished, as she pulled out a small cube of energon from her subspace, and handed it to Jack.

"Good luck, against Arcee. But you are going to tell me your two's story when you get back safe. Because I know you will," Jack said, as he stuffed the energon cube into his backpack, it just barely fitting in, and ran off in the direction he was guided towards.

Airachnid turned back around, the constant whirring of the helicopter-former now even closer, as if she was right on top of her. Airachnid quickly scrambled up a tree in her spider mode, doing her best to hide herself in the thick canopy, even though her paintwork contradicted the deep greens of the treetops.

It was but a few seconds later when she saw the Autobot huntress land on the ground nearby, stains of energon present all over her from whatever her last battle had been. Suddenly, Arcee's paint began to change before her optics, as they shifted from reds and purples to a camo pattern of greens and browns, better suited for the forested environment. She watched as Arcee flicked down her visor, and began to scan around the forest floor, probably for any signs of either her or Jack.

That was when she noticed that Arcee was grinning, and had started to walk in the same direction Jack had. Not wanting her partner to come to harm, she leaped out from her hiding spot, landing a solid punch on the back of Arcee's head.

"Argh, fraggit you…" Arcee mumbled, as she turned around. "Oh, well well well. If it isn't the itsy bitsy spider." she said, transforming out her arm blades, and began slashing at Airachnid.

Airachnid activated her own claws, along with two acid-tipped spider legs, and began to block Arcee's unrelenting attack. She may be an expert sharp-shooter, but she was also certainly on par with Airachnid in terms of close combat skills.

"What brings a monster like you to an innocent world like this? Hunting down fellow Transformers for sport again?" Airachnid spat, as she cut across Arcee's chest with an acidic claw, vengeance welling up in her optics.

"Oh, how little you think of me," Arcee replied, as she slashed at Airachnid's spider legs. The spider-bot managed to shoot some webbing at her assailant, buying her time to move back "If you must know, I'm here tracking down some lowly 'Cons who thought they could escape from me. Though, I would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it." she said with a smirk, as she lunged back into battle with Airachnid.

She may have been focused mostly on fighting off Arcee, but Airachnid couldn't help but be worried about Jack.

* * *

After about ten minutes of nothing but sprinting, Jack had found himself clamoring his way around rough and rocky terrain, the sound of clashing metal long behind him. He knew what he was looking for, a Cybertronian being hard to miss, but without a scanner, he had found a more gruesome way of tracking; following the trail of spilled energon, that would hopefully lead him to a Decepticon.

And, after a time, he heard a faint groan, and the distinctive creaking of metal nearby. He rushed over to where the sound came from, and found a ditch, and a deep one at that, and he saw a pair of giant legs sticking out from underneath the overhang he was stood on. Jack ran around to where there was a slope down into the well-hidden cave, and was astounded at what he saw. A dark green and black camo patterned seeker, looking like he had been beaten within an inch of his life and back again, sitting in a pool of his own energon, with one optic out, and the other flickering every so often.

Before Jack could even approach, the giant before him spoke up.

"Who… who's there?..." they droned in a scared tone, his head tilting towards Jack as if get a better look, but stared absently at him.

"You… are so, small... " they said weakly. "What, are… you?"

"I'm a human, the native species here on Earth. It's ok, I'm with the Decepticons, we picked up your distress signal. I'm just glad I made it here in time." Jack said, as climbed up onto the seeker's leg. He reached into his backpack, and pulled out the small energon cube that had been given to him, and held it up to the mystery Decepticon.

The green seeker mustered the strength to reach over and grab it, although the sound of groaning metal made his condition seem even worse.

"Thank you… so much. What is your name?" they said, as they went on to down the whole cube, a flicker of life coming back to them.

"I'm Jack, and my guardian Airachnid is currently fighting off that Arcee bot that I can only assume did this to you."

"Name's Acid Storm. Nice to meet a… friendly face, after so long." Acid Storm replied, a small grin on his faceplates. "As for my condition," they continued, "It's been well over a year since I've had a real medic look me over. So much torture done to me by the 'Bots, miricale im still alive."

"Well, don't worry. I was told more Decepticons are on their way to help. I just hope they make it soon."

Then, they heard the sound of a motorcycle, and sure enough, Airachnid transformed before them at the entrance to the cave.

"I see you found one of our wayward distress signals." she commented, walking up to Acid Storm, bringing out a basic first aid kit from her subspace, and went to work patching up his most critical wounds.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'one of'? Are there more now?"

"I'd think so," Acid Storm said, "there were three of us that she was after, we all landed close by. I was injured already, so I hung back, bought the others some time."

"Who were you with then?" Airachnid asked, taking out a mini-welder and some spare sheet metal.

"Thrust, he was watching over me since the day they threw me in Blackspark, the 'Bots new big fancy prison. And the other one… didn't catch his name, but he's an insect-former, like you." he said weakly.

"The extra legs that much of a giveaway?" Airachnid said jokingly, earning a faint chuckle from the injured seeker.

Airachnid put the welder back into the kit, and subspaced it away.

"That should keep you held together until we get back to the Nemesis, but there's no way I'm letting you try and walk just yet."

"So, sit tight and wait until help arrives?" Jack asked.

"Sometimes in this war, that's the best we can do," Acid Storm said solemnly.

* * *

Cruising high above the clouds, two very out of place looking fighter jets sped towards their destination. When Airachnid explained to the crew of the _Nemesis_ that a groundbridge stood too much of a risk, they scrambled their two fastest flight frames and hoped they made it before disaster struck.

The yellow and gray one looked as if at some point, their alt mode had been an F-15, but had been heavily modified with new wing design. The second one, a Vehicon, was plated in silver with dark green hexagonal patterns along the ridge of their wings, and retained most of their Cybertronian features, the sweeping edges of their wings giving away that it was definitely not of this world.

"Hey Dirge, we've been flying for a while now, got an updated ETA yet?" the vehicon asked.

"Not yet, Gary. But going off their coordinates, we're about halfway to them by now." Dirge responded.

"Airachnid said something about a 'Con distress signal, right? Any guesses who ended up crashing down?"

"Not sure. But if more of us are coming to Earth, that means Megatron's message got out as far as Velocitron, maybe even Chaar if the Autobots let it slip under their radar."

* * *

Over the next twenty minutes or so, the trio sat close together, and talked in hushed voices as to not alert Arcee to their presence. They learned of how Acid Storm, along with the other rainmakers, were an advanced strike team during the war, using chemicals to seed clouds with different weather patterns over Autobot territory. Jack also learned more about this Shockwave he had heard of a few times. Before the war, he had run a small school to help Transformers with unique abilities, called outliers, and that's how the rainmakers first came in contact with the Decepticons. He told stories of what had happened to him at the hands of Ironhide, what had happened to him in Blackspark, and how general Strika had sent himself and the two others here to investigate Megatron's message.

However, their peaceful moment wouldn't last long, as the distinct sound of a helicopter was heard off in the distance, and it sounded as though it was now circling them.

"Guess it's time to move out again." Jack said, as he leapt down from his spot on Acid Storm's leg.

"You think your good to move now?" Airachnid asked to Acid storm. The green seeker in question didn't look too happy at the idea.

"That's… gonna be a problem. My legs don't seem to work," he said solemnly. "I was hoping my self-repair systems would have fixed it by now, but I guess the damage is too extensive."

"What? But we can't just leave you here. Arcee will kill you!" Jack said.

"It's fine, really. After so long, I think I've made my peace with it all. Helps to know Megatron is here, still kicking the Auto-stooges' skid plate."

"No," Airachnid said, sternly. "We lost thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, just during the exodus of Cybertron alone. It won't do us any good to let one more mech die when they don't have to. We aren't going anywhere."

"I've probably got enough energy for a few good shots," Acid Storm said, charging up his null-rays. "When Arcee comes and finds us, I'll see if I can't deal out one last round of damage."

Then, they heard the distinct sound of transformation, and metal pedes landing on the rocky surface above them.

"Hiding underground as always, my little bug-bot. How predictable," Arcee yelled out sinisterly. "Next time you try to hide from a master of tracking, clean up the energon trail that leads right to you."

Before they knew it, Arcee leapt down from the overhang, and the fray began. Airachnid ran at her with acid claws ready, but Arcee managed to dodge and block her attack, and tossed her aside. Unfortunately for her, this gave Acid Storm and clear shot, and he let out six high-powered rounds into the assassin before he had to stand down. However, his efforts were not in vain, as he managed to strike Arcee in lower torso, piercing through her tough armor.

"Run you two!" Acid Storm called out, as he let off another round of less intensive shots. And without another word, Airachnid grabbed hold of Jack, transformed, and they sped away.

Arcee, now thoroughly annoyed at this seeker who refused death, got up close and personal with him, holding her integrated arm blade up to his neck.

"Any last words, Decepticon?"

"Just a few… Make it rain, glitch-head." Acid storm said, as the compartments on his wings opened up, acidic chemicals dripping from them. Before Arcee could realise what was going on, the acid fell onto the pooled energon, igniting it instantly. Once the dust had settled, there was a crater where the cave had been, and Arcee lay limp on the ground. After a few minutes, her systems booted up again, and was slow to rise from the ground.

She began painfully limping away from what remained of Acid Storm's body. And shaking off what debris remained on her, she transformed and flew off, at a significantly slower speed, once again on the hunt for her prey.

* * *

Airachnid had not been expecting such a spectacle, and was very glad to have gotten away before the bright blue explosion. What she hadn't been expecting was for Arcee to have survived it. However, with her now overhead, and looking even worse off than Acid Storm was, she was driving for her and Jack's lives at the moment.

The helicopter-bot managed a burst of speed, and managed to get out in front. Arcee transformed, and slammed down onto the ground in front of Airachnid, forcing her to swerve out of the way, but she faltered, and transformed before she had a nasty crash.

Seizing the opportunity, out from Arcee's wrist came a grapple, which she fired right at Jack. She caught hold of the human, and reeled him in, and clutched him painfully tight.

"Ah ah ah," Arcee said, waggling her finger. "You wouldn't try and hurt me when your human pet is in harm's way, now would you?"

Airachnid groaned as she got up, but transformed her weapons away, standing down.

"What do you want?" Airachnid asked, although she felt like she already knew the answer.

"Why, what else? The two other 'Cons, and yourself. All for your little human's freedom."

Before Airachnid had the chance to respond, her heightened sensors picked up on something nearby, or more specifically, somebody. Soon enough, all three of them heard the buzzing, coming from somewhere in the trees.

Then, a wild blast came out of nowhere, hitting right into Arcee's forearm, forcing her to drop Jack. Then, as the buzzing increased, a blur of yellow and orange flew at Arcee with a cackle, tackling her to the ground, using it's stinger to poison her. The giant insectoid pinning down the huntress transformed, his green wings folding onto his back, and a bug-like head came out of the larger insect one.

"Hehehe, evil Autobot lady can't outsmart Thruzzt and Wazzpinator!" Waspinator said jovially, still stood over the unconscious Arcee.

"Got that right, buddy." Thrust said, the gray and orange conehead stepping out from behind a rock pile he had been hiding behind.

Airachnid let out a heavy sigh of relief, as she went over to pick up Jack, making sure he was alright.

"Looks like the 'Cons in distress were the ones who saved us." Airachnid said.

"Hive queen! Wazzzzpinator is happy to have found you." Waspinator said, as he pulled her close for a too-tight hug.

"'Hive queen'? Don't tell me both you and the elite trine are royalty." Jack teased.

"Yes, it's good to see you too, Waspy. And no Jack, it's a little more complicated than that." Airachnid said, as she got out of the awkward embrace. "Most of the Insecticon Hive settlements were built up in the natural underground caves between Kaon and Tarn, with some surface villages dotted around. And this was before the war, so we were already at the bottom of the caste system. I was one of the few who tried to better our people's living condition, helping people, gathering support from the outside world, and over time, they started to see me was the Hive's queen. And when Megatron surfaced as a public figure, preaching equality and freedom for all, well, you can take a guess what happened from there."

"And an excellent addition to the Decepticons the Insecticons have been. It's very rare that a certain species of Transformers have so many various types to them, their diverse abilities and build types gave us a great advantage over the Autobots plenty of times." Thrust said.

Airachnid wanted to laugh, but she knew what she had to do.

"I'm… guessing you both saw that explosion?" she asked, her tone more serious now.

"Yes, and I can only imagine that he went out fighting." Thrust said, an amused grin on his face. "He always was a fighter, and its fitting he went until the bitter end. Still though, he'd be pretty mad if he knew he didn't get one last Autobot on his way out."

"Wazzzpinator sees no qualms with finishing the job." Waspinator said, hefting the dormant body of Arcee over his shoulder.

"No, as much as I want to, it wouldn't be right. But that doesn't mean we can't-"

But Airachnid never got to finish that thought, as two jets roared past overhead. They circled back around to the clearing, and transformed, dropping down to the ground.

"Uh, are we late to the party?" Gary asked.

"Holy scrap-iron, Dirge?" Thrust said in amazement, as he entered an embrace with his brother.

"A fragging miracle, I thought you were taken out a long time ago." Dirge said.

"No, they just threw me into Blackspark, and tossed out the key. That was until we broke out of course."

"Any word from Ramjet yet? He's been out of contact for years now." Dirge asked.

"No, not a thing. Just as you probably can, I can feel him over our bond, but he doesn't respond to that either."

Jack, feeling that they were getting sidetracked, used the universal sign of indication; "ahem".

They all turned to him, and the two new arrivals realised they had not been introduced yet.

"Oh, I've mizzplaced my mannerzz! I am Wazzpinator, and you are?" Waspinator said, holding out hand for a shake.

"Uh, I'm Jack." he replied, opting to just rest his hand on one of Waspinator's fingers and call it good enough.

"And this here is my brother, Thrust. He's the best tactical mind the we have." Dirge said, placing a hand on Thrust's shoulder.

"Yes, nice to meet you. And aside from the apparent Autobot infestation, this is a fine planet you have." Thrust said.

"So, what are we going to do about her?" Gary asked, pointing to Arcee.

"Well, I was thinking about that, and I might have a good idea." Airachnid said with a smirk.

. . . . .

"So, how long until she wakes up?"

"The poizzon will keep her down for at leazzt a few hourzz." Waspinator responded, as he threw Arcee down into the makeshift trap they set for her. First, Airachnid bound Arcee using her webbing, then they found a pair of stasis cuffs in the wreckage of her ship, and locked her down in the mess of metal that was once her own shuttle.

"There, that should keep her busy once she wakes up." Airachnid said.

"Now, how about we head home?" Jack asked.

"I like the sound of that. But, there's one last thing we have to take care of…"

* * *

Once they had retrieved the retrieved Acid Storm's remains, they finally called back to base for a groundbridge. And when they arrived, their two new arrivals received a big welcome from all. What was most surprising was the initial interaction between Megatron and Waspinator.

"Waspinator? Come here, old friend!" Megatron asked in high spirits, as he and the Insecticon locked arms in what was clearly some sort of special greeting.

"You two sure look like you have some history." Jack commented.

"Oh, very much so. Waspinator was a fellow gladiator in the Kaon pits during my time there." Megatron replied.

"Wazzzpinator never did big fightz though. Our troupe wazz more performerzz than fighterzzz, something for kiddiezz to watch in the daytime after school, hours before the big matchezzz at night. Taunting beastzzz, having mock duelzz, that sort of thing." said Waspinator.

"I believe the human word would be a 'Rodeo Clown' if I'm not mistaken." Megatron said. "He was also my emissary to the Insecticon Hive when they first reached out about joining the rising Decepticon movement."

"Not to interrupt, but do you know where Starscream is? It's kind of important." Airachnid said, still holding the remains of Acid Storm's spark casing and wing fragments in her hands.

"Ah, I see… I believe he is in the training room with his brothers." Megatron replied.

"Thank you." Airachnid said, as she went to find the air commander in question.

. . . . .

Entering into the training room, Airachnid saw that she hadn't come in at a bad time, as the three seekers there were currently taking a rest. She strode up to them, still awkwardly holding the remnants of the dead seeker in hand.

"Oh, heya 'Nid." Skywarp said from where he was levitating. Strange as it may be, but his new form was so light, it took barely any power get off the ground now.

"Um, yeah. Hi." she said awkwardly.

"Airachnid, is that, a spark casing? And… wings?" Starscream asked, optics going wide.

"Yes. This is all that remains of Acid Storm." she said sadly.

"Oh... Shockwave might emote when he finds out all the rainmakers are dead." Skywarp said.

"That leaves how many of his adoptive children alive?" Thundercracker asked.

"Not many…" Starscream said.

"I really don't know much about death rights in general, but I know that Vosian and flyer culture as a whole have complex ones. So, I brought him to you to look after." Airachnid said.

"I… thank you. Tell me, how did he die?" Starscream asked, taking the remains from her.

"Blew up his own energon trying to kill Arcee. Nearly got her, too."

"Wait, you mean that monster is here? On this planet?" Thundercracker butted in.

"Unfortunately, yes. Himself, along with Thrust and Waspinator were sent here by Strika when they got Megatron's message about coming here. She managed to track them down."

"Well, the Autobots gained one, and we gained two today." Starscream said.

"They still outnumber us though." Thundercracker said.

"Then we will do as we always have. Fight on, and do what we can." Airachnid said, as she turned and left the seekers be.

. . . . .

Later that evening, after Acid Storm had been officially added to the Decepticon Memorial, a databank of fallen soldiers accessible via the datanet, many members of the crew seemed much less lively. Having been close to such an important figure as Shockwave, plenty of Decepticons had fought alongside and befriended the rainmakers.

And atop one of the highest plateaus of the surrounding Mesas, three flyers gathered to properly lay Acid Storm down, with a traditional sky burial atop the highest place they could find. Skyquake oversaw the small ceremony, being the elder flightframe and possessing the most knowledge of more ancient rituals. Starscream, being the crown prince of Vos, acted in place of a proper priest, and had buried the remains himself, along with Thrust, who had there at the bitter end, helping Acid Storm cling to life.

And at the end of the day, nobody really cared if Arcee was dead or not. There was plenty of anger at just the fact such a sadistic killer being on this planet, that everybot was certain she would get her due soon enough.


	15. Chapter 14: Welcome Aboard

**A/N: Bit of a shorter chapter this time, and once again time to see what our marooned Autobots are up to.**

* * *

The past few months had been hell on Arcee, and she was absolutely furious now. First there was the jailbreak at Blackspark, then what turned out to be months wasted travelling in space to catch up with only three escaped prisoners, only to find out they landed on a world that was crawling with even more Decepticons, and getting bested by them. But, one thing she was excited about was now she had another chance to kill that annoying bug princess Airachnid once and for all.

However, such plans and desires would have to wait for another day. For right now, she was stuck onboard the slow moving shuttle that Prowl and Jazz had retrieved her with. Quite frankly, she was surprised that there was any other Autobots in this system, and hadn't expected to learn that an entire Autobot warship lay dormant on the moon of this wretched planet. What surprised her even more was how many members of the top brass where onboard. Rodimus, Prowl, Ultra Magnus and what's left of the Wreckers. When Optimus Prime had sent them to take down Megatron, the concept of "overkill" must not have come to mind. Then again, it just might take that much to finally off the Decepticon leader once and for all.

"Alright, we're coming in for landing now. Grab your gear, and I'll take you to Rodimus," Prowl said, activating the shuttle's landing protocols, as they flew into the hangar bay of the _Lost Light_.

Arcee wasn't usually shaken by things, but having never met the Prime's son in person, she had no idea what to expect. She had heard tales of how the ship he captained had taken out many Decepticon squadrons when the war started to spill out into space, and creeped towards the old colony worlds, and about how fearsome his crew was.

One thing she certainly wasn't expecting when she stepped down the boarding ramp and into the hangar bay, was to see heavily crippled looking Ultra Magnus, stood up with a sturdy cane and leg braces, hoveling about shouting orders at the crewmembers.

"Magnus, I didn't expect you to be awake so soon, if not ever." Prowl said coldly.

"Yes, well, those restraints I woke up to didn't help much. Thankfully, that little bot First Aid is a pushover, I doubt he's ever even seen a real battle." the large beige and black camo mech said. "And besides, somebody has to make sure this ship is running at peak efficiency."

"I can assure you, we were just fine in your absence. Now would you kindly step aside so that I may escort our guest to the captain, or must I crack that cane of yours over your thick head?" Prowl said grumpily.

"HA!" Ultra Magnus bellowed. "Getting a little too emotional, are we?"

"No. If I was getting too emotional, I wouldn't involve myself. Instead, I'd just task Arcee here with killing you." The police bot said, gesturing back to the assassin. At the mention of her name, Ultra Magnus' expression dropped from sinisterly happy to full of dread.

"Um, of course. As you were." Ultra Magnus said with a half-sparked salute, and stalked off elsewhere, most likely to abuse more of the crew.

"Is he always that insufferable?" Arcee asked, as herself and Prowl continued on their way, whilst Jazz went off somewhere else.

"Unfortunately, he is. And I'm guessing you caught word of his traitorous actions while on Cybertron?"

"Yep. That's how I knew it wasn't a hollow threat when you told him I'd kill him."

As they reached the main elevator, Prowl received a ping over his comms, and one of great interest to him.

"Something else has come up, so I can't show you to Rodimus. I'll send you a basic map over comms so you don't get lost. But for a more detailed idea of where things are, don't be afraid to ask around. Some of the crew are surprisingly tolerable." Prowl said, as he walked off down the corridor elsewhere.

It was only a few moments until the elevator came to the level they were on, however Arcee was deeply annoyed at who she saw standing inside it.

"Well, I'll be. How've you been, 'Cee?" Cliffjumper said smugly.

"Go get scrapped, Cliffjumper. I'm not in the mood right now." She replied, reluctantly stepping into the elevator, and saw that Cliffjumper had already punched in the level of the bridge.

"Aw, what's the matter? I thought we were still close. After all, I am the one who comforted you after that Tailgate rascal left you and ran off with some 'not-a-Decepticon' guy. What was his name again? Cyclone, or something-"

That was when Arcee slammed her fist square into Cliffjumper's face, having finally reached her already short limit with the black and flame-clad mech. She then grabbed him by the neck, and hoisted the struggling bot up, pinning him against the elevator doors.

"I appreciated it back then, yes. But in hindsight? You're the worst bounce-back in the history of Cybertron." Arcee stated coldly, letting go of Cliffjumper's neck. Still being pressed against the elevator doors, when they arrived at their destined level, he clumsily fell backwards onto the floor. Arcee stepped over the still recovering mech, and made her way down the hall to the bridge.

It was quite hard to miss the bridge, really. The large doors had the bright purple Autobot symbol painted on, making it stand out. And when Arcee had thought this day couldn't be any stranger, the first thing she saw when stepping onto the bridge was Rodimus, the son of a Prime and future ruler of the Autobot Empire, destroyer of countless thousands of Decepticons, stood up on his throne, playing air-guitar like some idiot.

The music itself was very much foreign, some strange melody that she could only assume was from this planet in particular. It wasn't all that bad, she made a mental note to look into it more later.

She was about to shout over the music to introduce herself, but the black, gray and teal sound system that was at one of the main terminals cut out, and transformed into a red-visodred, blockly mech, who merely pointed at her.

"Oh scrap, thanks, Blaster. Sorry about that, didn't hear you-"

Before Rodimus could even finish, Arcee had gotten down on one knee, and a fist-over-spark salute.

"Lord Rodimus Pax, it is an honor to be in your presence. I am Arcee, and I humbly request your permission to stay stationed onboard your warship, as I have become marooned in this system." Arcee said, not daring to make optic-contact with Rodimus.

"Woah, uh ok. First off, you don't need to bow. To me, at least, I know some other mechs get real cranky if you don't." He said, extending a hand to help her up. Arcee, a little confused by his laid-back demeanor, took it, standing back up.

"And secondly, welcome aboard. I'm sure we have spare quarters somewhere. If not, hope you don't mind bunking with another crewmember."

"If I may request, my liege, that I do not have to be stationed anywhere near Cliffjumper."

"Oh, no worries. I understand that he can get a bit… excessive. And explosive, lot of noise complaints from his sector…" Rodimus said, now realising that more people seem to complain about Cliffjumper's antics than Brainstorm's. He would definitely be looking into that later.

"Wasn't Prowl supposed to escort you here and fill you in on everything?" He asked, realising the tactician wasn't present.

"Tore off just after we left the hangar bay, said he was called off elsewhere. Didn't catch what for, though." Arcee replied.

"Huh. Welp, just one more thing to add to the to-do list then. Come on, I'll give you a tour of the ship. You might be stuck here a while, so best to know your way around the place." Rodimus said, as he began walking towards the door. Arcee looked back at Blaster, an optic ridge raised. He just gave her a gesture along the lines of, 'just go with it', and off she went off with a very odd mech who she wasn't expecting.

* * *

In the dark recesses of the _Lost Light_, Prowl's headlights where the only thing properly illuminating his path, as the power had been cut to this level of the ship when they found out nobody uses it. Which had made it the perfect place for Chromedome to further conduct his experiments on Overlord. At least it had been, before the Decepticons came along and wrecked most of the equipment they had down here.

"Got here a lot quicker than I thought you would," Chromedome said, as he was hunched over a small terminal at a too-small desk.

"Your message sounded urgent. What's this breakthrough you spoke of?" Prowl said.

"Ah, yes. I've finally cracked those encrypted files I found stored deep within Overlord's processor. The way they were hidden, I doubt even he knew about them, really."

"And what, praytell, did this information yield?" asked Prowl.

"It's a command, a subroutine, or whatever. The point is, it's Shockwave's design for sure, no other mech makes such intricate details like he does in his work. And judging by the vast contents that I've only been able to read a fraction of, it's exactly what we were after."

"You mean, this is…"

"Yep. We've finally got the secret to creating our own Phase Sixers."

And on that day, for the first time in many, many years, Prowl's devilish smile was that of genuine happiness.


	16. Chapter 15: Terror on All Hallow's Eve

**A/N: Here we are, with the obligatory Halloween-ish episode!**

…

As the Decepticons' stay on Earth continued, they became further interested in all the human festivities and cultural holidays. Of course, when Miko had told them about this 'Halloween', a time for dressing up and telling scary stories at the end of the month, the crew of the _Nemesis_ had begun preparing for the big day.

"No Hook, further left!" Miko shouted, guiding the medic as he hung up a string of pumpkin-shaped lights over the doorway into the main recreational centre. Having not been used much other than for the odd-ended small social gathering, the rec room of the ship had not seen much use, as better suited areas were available. However, the party that Steve, Waspinator, and Barricade had planned out required the biggest room suited for the job. A much better option than using the less than desirable cargo holds or hangars.

"Woah, watch out!" Miko yelled at Barricade, who had just walked in, nearly running into Hook.

"Oh, sorry about that." Barricade said, stopping in his tracks to make sure he didn't mess anything up.

"Ah, your fine, 'Cade. So, any news when we're getting more supplies? I'm running low on these decorative light thingies." Hook said.

"Steve and Raf went out to get some more. But, I did bring some more streamers to hang across the ceiling."

"Yezz, Wazzpinator was running low on festivity streamerzzz." Waspinator said from where he was hovering nearby, stringing the black, orange and purple streamers from end to end across the ceiling.

Miko looked back to Barricade, the police-bot having a smile of reminiscence on his face.

"What are ya' thinking about, Barricade?" Miko asked.

"Huh? Oh, just thinking back on past Halloweens. It wasn't until a few decades after Blackout, Airachnid, and myself landed here that we got to experience it for ourselves during a night out with our first human charges."

"Wait, so you and Blackout were someone's guardians too? And Airachnid had one before Jack? What were they like?" Miko asked excitedly at the prospect of meeting other humans who knew of the Decepticons.

"Heh, well, I've been sworn to secrecy on Airachnid's charge. But if you must know, my charge's name is Daniel Witwicky, now a police officer up in Oregon. I spend most of my time with him, so that's why you don't see me around often."

"Cool. And what about Blackout?" Miko asked.

As Barricade was about in answer, the loud pounding of heavy metal footsteps came ever closer, until the large helicopter-former in question lumbered through the doorway, agent Fowler perched on his shoulder as usual.

"Close the door next time you talk about me, hearing my name only draws me closer," Blackout said jokingly. "But really, what was it you were talking about?"

"I was just telling Miko here about our human charges, and was about to mention yours. But, seeing as your here now, would you care to?"

"Ah, yes of course." Blackout said. He then picked up agent Fowler, and set him down next to Miko. "There. Unless you two have forgotten meeting each other, now you do. I've been stuck with William ever since… well, most of his life really?"

"Woah, you've been watching over old man double-oh-seven here since he was a kid?"

Fowler sighed. "Yes, he has. And please, don't call me that. You act enough like a small Skywarp already."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Miko said, a sly grin on her face.

"I knew his father first though, he was an early member of what eventually became the group that runs Decepticon-Earth relations," Blackout said.

"So, any idea what you guys are going to dress up as for the party?" Barricade asked.

"Ooh! I'm gonna be a witch! No, maybe a samurai! Uh, ok, maybe I don't have a solid idea yet," Miko said with a shrug.

"Hehe, why don't you go as Breakdown! That'll either freak him out, or make his day," Hook said with a hearty chuckle.

"Well, I know who I'll be going as. Yoketron, an ancient master of martial arts who united warring tribes to form what's now Praxus, my hometown." Barricade said.

"I don't think they make costumes your size, Barricade. How are you or any of the other 'Cons gonna dress up?" Miko asked.

"Nothing some scrap metal and a lot of cardboard can't do," Barricade said.

"And any clue what the others will be?" Blackout asked.

"Not a clue. Guess we'll just have to find out during the party."

* * *

A few days went by, as the decorations were set up about the large recreation room, and the night of Halloween rolled around. And Steve was very glad he had managed to convince Megatron to let him use the room, as there were many more attendees than was anticipated.

"I must say, this certainly is quite the crowd," Megatron said from where he was standing besides Steve and Airachnid. The large silvery gray mech had, to the surprise of many, dressed up for the occasion, having removed his war plating and donning his old gladiator armor and shield.

"Yeah, Miko sure seems to have sold a lot of the crew on the idea of Halloween," Airachnid said. The spider-bot had taken a more extreme measure in her costume, having entirely changed her paint into black, gold and dark purple, now with purple optic mods, with a black tarp around her for a cape, and a black witch's hat.

"Oh yeah, she was around helping out with the setup almost the entire time," Steve said, who in the hassle of making sure everything was set up perfectly, had forgotten to get a costume together.

"I think she ran off with 'Cade to get her costume, so she'll be back soon."

"Well, I'd sure hope so," a new voice said, as Breakdown, along with Knockout walked up to the group. Breakdown had painted splotches of green across him, and covered in tattered tarps, and Knockout had adorned himself in a shimmering black and silver paint scheme, with a short red cape flowing behind him.

"Woah, nice costumes. But uhh, what are you supposed to be?" Steve asked the new arrivals.

"I went with a 'vampire', the Earth equivalent of a Spark Eater. And I must say, I think I did a pretty good job with this getup."

"And I'm 'Franenstein's Monster.' Couldn't tell ya much about the story, but the whole idea of bringing back the dead seemed cool."

"Well, good to see that you two got into the spirit of things. I think Skywarp and Thundercracker are still trying to get Starscream into costume," Airachnid said.

"Thundercracker isn't resisting? I thought he held himself in too high regard for something like a costume party." Breakdown asked.

"It would seem that his usual, how you say, pretentiousness has lessened over time, since we arrived here on Earth" Megatron said.

"Aw c'mon, surely I deserve some credit for making old stuck-up live a little," Skywarp said, as he appeared before them, seeming to have startled all except Megatron.

"What? Oh, don't tell me your still not used to me doing this."

"It doesn't help that you do it right in front of us," Knockout said.

"Well, when their something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call?" Skywarp quipped.

"Heh, nice one" Breakdown said.

"I'm afraid I do not get it." Megatron asked, looking over the odd jumpsuit that Skywarp had managed to fit himself into.

Skywarp facepalmed, and gestured to his costume. "Ghostbusters. Thought it would be funny to dress up as one given my current state."

"Hey, don't hog all the attention, Skywarp."

The group turned, and saw Thundercracker had arrived, and had actually dressed up. A cowboy hat sat upon his head, and a poncho covered most of his torso, and a makeshift holster held a fake old-west revolver.

"Oh, your that Eastwood guy or something, right?" Steve asked.

"Yes, Clint Eastwood. I must say, I wasn't really expecting much out of Earth media, but after watching a bunch of old movies, I have grown a new appreciation for it." Thundercracker said.

Starscream ended up being the last to arrive, looking a little embarrassed. His costume wasn't much, a few brown and beige tarps thrown over him as makeshift robes. Steve stifled a laugh at laugh at just how awkward the air commander looked.

"Gotta say, wasn't expecting you to come as a Jedi," Steve said.

"Yes, well, those Star Wars films stood out to me, I suppose." Starscream said.

Next to join them was Barricade, who had gone all-out with his costume, having repainted himself the gold and black scheme of Yoketron.

"And my good looks aren't all I brought. Breakdown, I think you dropped your mini-con." Barricade said, as he picked up Miko, who had been hiding behind his head, who was dressed up almost exactly as Breakdown, if not a little crude.

"Woah, Miko. Now that's impressive." Breakdown said, taking her in his hand.

"Had there been a best costume contest, you just might have won it," Airachnid said with a laugh.

Suddenly, Megatron received a ping over comms, from Soundwave no less. However, the as expected informal message read with a sense of urgency, simply stating, _/We have a situation. I need you here now./_

. . . . .

Stepping onto the dimly lit bridge, Megatron found Soundwave stood at the central terminal at the front of the bridge, silently working away as always.

"Honestly Soundwave, we must stop meeting like this," Megatron jested. The masked intel officer showed no outward reaction, only turning to face Megatron as he walked up to him.

"Observation: There appears to be an intruder trying to break into the ship," Soundwave said as he brought up one of the exterior cameras on-screen. In the dark of the cloudy night, they saw a disfigured crimson bot with blazing green optics, roughly the size of an average Cybertronian, clawing away at one of the sealed entrances.

"By Primus, what is that thing?"

"Unknown. Scans show no spark signature. However, I have determined a possible local of origin." Soundwave said, as the screen now changed to show the expanse next to the ship, and where there was once a concrete filled hole in the ground, was now broken apart.

"That thing, it's those scraplets? How is that even possible?" Megatron pondered.

"Another unknown. However, unless we do something about it now-" Soundwave switched the camera back over to where the creature was, showing that it transformed, or more aptly, moulded its hands, now climbing up the side of the ship with long, sharpened claws, "-I do not think we will be able to stop it once it gets inside."

Megatron sighed, having hoped nothing of major concern would of happened on this night.

"Very well then. I'll place the troops on alert, but try not to ruin their fun. Keep me updated on it's position, I'll get a team to go after it myself."

"Inquiry: How do you plan to handle a congealed entity of scraplets?" Soundwave droned, tilting his head in confusion as to what Megatron had planned.

"Nothing too extreme. It seems to be just a beast, no more dangerous than what you and I fought back in the Kaon Pits, so it will be dealt with as such." Megatron said, an almost cocky grin appearing on his face, a sight Soundwave hadn't seen since long before the war.

Not wanting to hinder the disposal of the creature crawling around on their ship, Soundwave simply let Megatron leave. He made sure to contact the right 'Cons to keep an eye on their leader, just to make sure he didn't go overboard.

. . . . .

By the time the "Scraplet Monster", as Megatron had described it, reached the flight deck on top of the ship, Megatron had already gathered a strikeforce at the hangar doors, the proximity alarm flashing red overhead, informing them that their target lie right outside.

"This is… freaky. You sure we should be fighting scraplets, sir?" Gary asked, transforming his arms into blasters, as he aimed forwards and readied to fire.

"This beast seems slow and lumbering, so I see no reason to be too worried. However, we still do not know what it is capable of, so-"

"So we blast the lil' fragger on sight, an' make sure we don't let up on 'em," Motormaster bellowed, blaster primed and readied.

"Very well then. Open the doors, and let's get this over and done with," Megatron said, as a vehicon went over to the terminal, pressing in the proper commands, and the hangar doors began to slowly open, revealing the near pitch-blackness of the night.

"What the… ain't the damn thing supposed to be here?" Motormaster asked, firing off a few rounds to check for certain there was no beast.

"Soundwave, it's too dark, can you activate the exterior light-"

The lights went out in the hangar, and the faint whirr of power going off was heard, only the red emergency lights remained flashing, strobing across the hangar bay.

"Ok, now I'm _very_ freaked out." Gary said, hunching back, head darting around to see if he can spot anything.

In the darkness, a figure dropped down from the roof of the hangar, but nobody saw until it was too late. A scream was heard, a poor vehicon at the front being the first one it got, it's tendrils latching on and disassembling their body as it drained the energon from their systems.

Other Decepticons scrambled to their now dead comrade, as the rest of the team fired wildly in the scraplet creature's direction, any shots that landed seeming to be negated by the beast contorting itself, shifting itself to make holes for the rounds to pass through.

Then, it leaped at the vehicon who had been at the control panel, who resorted to fighting back the beast bare-handed. Clearly week, the creature didn't last long, and pushed it's captive right into Motormaster. Then, it did as they had feared, and dissipated into separate strands of rust red fragments, and scattered off into the vents.

Megatron, now fully aware of the situation, desperately wished no one else would die this night.

* * *

"I'm losing it, 'Screamy. I can't fragging take it anymore!"

"Trust me, I'm well aware that your scared Skywarp, but please, you have to remain calm," Starscream said, as himself and two brothers wandered the dark halls of the _Nemesis_. It seemed that in some point, this creature had managed to take out not just the hangar bay's lighting, but that of the whole ship. Thankfully, they had enough power to ground bridge the kids back home, with agent Fowler staying on the bridge of the ship.

"Remain calm? Gee, why didn't I think of that! First I become some kinda pseudo-ghost, we learn that Acid Storm died, and now there some sort a scraplet demon onboard the ship killing everyone!"

"If becoming a ghost is at the top of that list, you must not have been paying attention to the past four million years of hell." Thundercracker said, his large cowboy hat in hand.

"Shh," Starscream went, stopping in his tracks. He looked up, to where he could have sworn he heard the skittering sound of countless small metal legs in the vents overhead. Not hesitating a moment more, he aimed his null-rays up, and fired upon his intender target.

With the ventilation shaft now blasted open, the swarm cascaded down onto the floor, slowly coalescing into a familiar form, that of a deformed Vehicon. It simply stood their, emerald optics observing the three seekers before it.

"Ah frag, you just had to let the thing loose on us, didn't ya?" Skywarp said.

However, even with Starscream being the closest to the creature, it locked onto Skywarp, and shoved passt Starscream, and leaped over Thundercracker to get at the hovering seeker.

"woAH HOLY PRIMUS GET IT OFF ME!" Skywarp screamed, as the creature managed to get a solid hold of his leg after a few tries, clawing through his costume.

"..Must… feeed…" the creature groaned, attempting to breach Skywarp's veins.

Kicking at the beast, and igniting his thrusters in it's face, he managed to rid himself of it, and warp to the other side of his brothers.

However, they watched in awe as the amassment of scraplets began to reformat itself before their optics, its legs now bulkier, and ending in thruster heels, along with wings almost exact to that of a seeker. It's arm also folded outwards, 'transforming' into a curved blade, and pointed it at them challengingly.

Reacting out of instinct, Starscream pulled out a golden hilt from his subspace, and from it erupted a glowing energon blade.

"Didn't you give up swordsmanship?" Thundercracker asked warrilly, as the creature slowly stepped to them.

"However intelligent this monster may be, I'd recognise a want for a duel anywhere. And I may be a bit rusty, but what kind of Crown Prince would I be if I declined?"

"Oh, yeah, like some scraplet would learn honor from attacking and killing other bots." Skywarp quipped, still keeping well away.

"It took parts of those soldiers in the first encounter, and parts of _you_ in case you hadn't noticed, so it's not impossible." Starscream said, as he walked up to the creature.

However, Starscream overestimated the honor-code of an amalgamation of scraplets, as he was swiftly sucker-punched by the beast, as it started to fail its blade wildly. Recovering just in time to avoid a blow to the spark chamber, and thrust his blade forth into where the T-Cog would of been on a normal Cybertronian. However, it only created a slit in the creature, and it slashed the seeker's blade away.

"...Star-flyer fights good…" it droned.

"Ah, so it is learning…" Starscream lamented, knowing that it would soon be able to properly fight back after observing his own movements.

"To hell with honor!" Skywarp yelled out, as he blasted off one of the hanging lights above them, and swinging it by its cord, hurled it at the scraplet creature, sending it skidding across the floor. It didn't lake long for it to lash out with it's tendrils, and started breaking down and consuming the light that was pinning it down.

"Ok, time to move!" Thundercracker said, as he grabbed Starscream and Skywarp, pulling them in the opposite direction, and running off.

. . . . .

The night went on, and Starscream's report of his run in with the creature only put the ship's crew further on edge. The Constructicons had been slowly going about and repairing the internal damage done by the creature, with Soundwave trying to better locate the damage via a barely still functioning terminal, but it seemed that as fast as they repaired it, something else would get wrecked elsewhere.

Steve and Airachnid were currently on their way to where the creature had last been sighted, where it had attacked members of the Constructicons' repair crew.

"Alright, what's the plan should we bump into this thing anyways?" asked Steve, who had had his arms transformed to blasters since the moment word came about the thing being onboard.

"Well, from what little we know so far, it's only weakness is direct physical attacks, as blaster bolts barely do anything to it. And from what Scrapper said, it was wandering around in its solid form."

"So, it's making itself a better body? I mean, I guess that makes sense, given how its been taking bits of other bot's bodies and making them its own."

However, their talk was cut short, as in the distance they heard the scraping of metal against metal, and a low growl.

"Uhh, I think we found it," Steve said in a hushed tone, as the two moved forward with an even greater air of caution, Airachnid switching to her spider mode for better stealth and maneuverability.

Rounding the dark corridor is where the found the creature, feasting upon two more dead Vehicons, it's tendrils draining the energon from them as it gnawed on their armor with its grotesque maw.

"Hey, Airachnid?" Steve asked, voice trembling.

"Yes, what is it?" Airachnid replied.

"If we don't make it out of this, there's something I wanted to tell you-"

But Steve was cut off then, as the monster reared its head, clearly having been made aware of their presence. It retracted its tendrils, and lunged towards the two of them, who managed to react in time to jump out of the way, the beast falling face-first on the floor.

Quickly, Airachnid began spinning webs on the downed creature, making sure it was secured, whilst Steve commed Megatron, letting him know of their situation. However, her webbing wouldn't be enough, as it began to shift itself around the sticky mesh, optics darting around.

"...forgive..meeee...must...feeeed…" It hissed at them, as it shifted itself into what could only be described as a crude alt-mode, a drill of some kind. It then pointed itself downwards, and with ease, bore straight through the floor, and went off elsewhere.

"What. The. Pit," was all Steve could mutter, as they both stared at the hole in the ship, and subsequent holes in the creature's path.

From behind them, the sound of heavy footsteps running came closer, and soon Megatron had arrived.

"What happened here?" he asked, just as bewildered as his two troops.

"I… I think it stole one of their T-Cogs," Airachnid said, pointing over to the two dead Decepticons. "It made itself an alt-mode, that's for certain."

"Hmm, I see." Megatron said, stepping over to his fallen Decepticons.

"Tell me, what else happened here?" Megatron asked.

"Well, when we got here, we found it feeding off of their energon and bodies. It noticed us, and tried to attack, but I stuck it down with my webbing." Airachnid said.

"And I take it that it simply morphed around it?" Megatron asked.

"Yes, but when it got free, it didn't attack us again. Actually, it apologized of all things, but said it would continue to feed." she finished.

"How peculiar indeed." Megatron mused, now looking down the path the creature made for itself.

Airachnid pulled Steve aside for a moment, "What was it you wanted to tell me?" she asked.

"Oh, that? Ah, it wasn't much, really, hehe. You always hear about people who say or do desperate things in dire situations, and such…" Steve said, trailing off.

Then, Megatron shot up straight, realization washing over him.

"If the creature has such desperation to feed, and it ate through the energy lines and had such a fixation on Skywarp, then its same to assume that its after the largest energy source it can find." Megatron said.

"Ok, makes sense. But where does this even lead?" Steve asked.

Megatron looked down at the rudimentary bore hole, and pinged Soundwave for the layout of the _Nemesis_ from their location. His optics went wide when it finally dawned on him.

"It's on a direct path to the engine room, straight for Trypticon's spark," he said, grimmly.

* * *

Calling ahead, Megatron had ordered numerous more troops down to defend the engine room, as it was now clear that the creature was after the largest energy source it could find, and there was nothing quite as powerful as the life source of a Titan. Transforming out part of the walls and floor, they set up what they hoped to be viable defensive positions. However, hope wouldn't be enough to hold the beast back, as it came barrelling out of one of the walls, and rammed right at the Decepticons with it's drill mode.

Skyquake, who had been at the front of the group, tried desperately to blast away the assailant before he got too close. But unfortunately, not even his powerful gatling laser would cut it, and was thrown aside by the impact.

Not caring for this lesser prey, and wishing to be done with them, the creature transformed back into its crude root-mode, its features now less jagged and messy, and lumbered passed the Decepticons, not even bothering to strike at them unless they attacked it in desperation. Now having adapted a heightened intelligence than what it once had, it understood that it couldn't take them all on at once and survive, so they kept heading towards it's target.

Upon reaching the sealed blast doors of the engine room, it's arms transformed into smaller drills, and began to slowly cut through the door, making its way into the heart of the ship.

. . . . .

"That things just on the other side, and I don't think our barriers will hold that thing off for long," Bonecrusher said, as he ducked behind one of the railings.

To say that the Constructicons were nervous as hell would be an understatement. They were trapped in one of the most isolated parts of the ship, with a seemingly unkillable creature hunting down whatever was the most plentiful energy source. Of course, there wasn't much in the way of weaponry that was available in the giant spark chamber/ engine room, whatever internal defenses having been taken offline when Trypticon went dormant in his secondary alt-mode.

"You findin' anything in all those files to help us yet?" Scavenger asked.

"Do I look like a City Speaker to you? The best I can find are technical files, but nothing we don't already know about the big guy," Scrapper said, exasperated.

"Hey, Trypt!" Mixmaster shouted up at the spark casing embedded in the ceiling, "You remember us? The Constructicons, we took care of you for a long time pal, and it'd be nice if you worked a miracle and woke up right about now!"

"Dear Primus, hes fully lost his mind…" Hook said, facepalming at his compariate's attempt to communicate with a spark.

Before they knew it, a loud clunk was heard, as a large piece of the blast door fell forward, and the crimson creature stepped in, gazing up in awe at the massive spark above them.

"...Apologies, labor-builders. But that," it said, pointing up at Trypticon's beating spark. "will be mine now…"

Beginning to step forwards, a low rumble was felt throughout the chamber, as the floor in the centre began to shift and transform, a circular hole appearing, and a cylindrical canister elevated upwards. At floor level, the stasis-pod like tube opened, transforming away back into the floor, leaving a silver and orange mech, adorned in intricate golden markings, and red designs painted under his blue visor.

Coming back online for the first time in countless millions of years, the ancient bot had to take only one look at the creature to know it was trouble, and extended out a bo staff, gesturing with it towards the intruder.

"I am Full-Tilt, guardian of Trypticon. I sense a great darkness within you, intruder. I advise that you leave immediately." he said with a calm but serious voice.

"...hehehe, old-bot makes me Scraplet laugh. Trypticon is this place? He stands no chance."

"Very well, Scraplet. Then you shall _perish_." Full-Tilt suddenly boomed, slamming his free hand down on the ground, as lines of blue energy ran out from him, running up the walls, causing long-since dormant defensives to come alive, turrets surrounding the spark-chamber powering up and locking on to the now-named Scraplet. Bright laser-bolts rang out, striking the creature, but doing little damage to him.

Running up to them, Full-Tilt drew back his staff, and slammed it full force into Scraplet's torso, knocking him back a little. Scraplet then transformed both arms into his curved blades, and began hacking and slashing forward at Full-Tilt, who dodged around them with ease, flipping over the creature and twisting his staff, separating them into two batons, and blocking Scraplet's blades, before leaping back to recover for a moment.

"Full-Tilt moves well. Scraplet kills better." Scraplet said, as they tore off a chunk of themselves, and hurreled the pile of scraplets at Full-Tilt. However, the tiny beasts wouldn't even get to bite him, as he let out a short-range pulse, disabling them instantly.

"I've had it with you, Scraplet. This ends now." Full-Tilt said, rejoining his staff, and aiming it upwards at the spark casing.

The mech began a quick chant in ancient Cybertronian, his optics and bio-lights getting brighter as he went on, when suddenly-

"_**TRYPTICON HEEDS THE CALL**_" a voice called out, as if it was coming from everywhere at once, and a bolt of energy came down and struck the bo-staff. Full-Tilt then began to twirl it around, faster and faster as he ran at Scraplet, optics now ablaze with some sort of ancient power, and slammed the staff right into the crimson terror. Scraplet let out a shrill cry, as he was disintegrated before their very optics, nothing but energized dust remaining where he once stood. By now, the veins of power had faded, and the vibrant energy Full-Tilt used had dissipated back into Trypticon's spark. The ancient city-speaker fell to his knees, now having been drained.

"Ok, move aside." Hook said, as he squeezed passed the other Constructicons to get to the new arrival. Getting down next to Full-Tilt, and taking out his handheld medical scanner. The city speaker recoiled, but Hook offered up an energon cube, something any good medic carried incase of an emergency.

"Hey, take it easy, I'm a doctor. Name's Hook, by the way. Full-Tilt, right?"

"That is correct. I am the guardian and city speaker of the titan Trypticon, however I see that things are not as they once were." he said, looking around what had once been nothing more than a spark chamber, was now full of machines and equipment, and piles and piles of energon cubes.

"Yeah, well, me and outfit, the Constructicons, have been acting like the big guy's caretakers for a long time now. Trypticon never talked much, so we had no idea he had his own guardian," Hook said.

"You watched over him? For how long now?" Full-Tilt asked.

"Geez, close to about three million years now. Wait, when did you go dormant in that pod of yours?" Scrapped asked, now moving closer.

"Trypticon and myself went dormant at the beginning of the so-called Golden Age, when Cybertron no longer needed Titans to defend it."

"Which golden age?" Bonecrusher asked.

"What do you mean?" Full-Tilt asked.

"The one that came before or the one after the Quintesson invasion?"

"I'm afraid I do not know of a 'Quintesson,' does that have something to do with Quintus Prime?" he asked.

"It seems we have much to discuss with you then, Full-Tilt." A new voice said, as Megatron stepped further into the room, having not wanted to interrupt.

"I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, and I welcome you to the modern world."


	17. Chapter 16: The Secrets of Trypticon

**A/N: And now, it is time for some **_**L O R E**_**. As always, feedback is appreciated.**

* * *

As he aimlessly wandered through the halls of his old friend, Full-Tilt traced his hands against the ancient Titan. It was familiar, yet so jarringly different from what had once been Trypticon's alt-mode. The "Nemesis" as the ship had been named, was certainly a large vessel, however it still pales in comparison to his original base mode.

The Decepticons had been nice enough to him, so far, having given him energon and a room to rest in, but their greater motives, and overall scope of this "great war" they speak of, were still beyond his current understanding.

Megatron, the leader of these exiled Cybertronians, had requested to speak with him up to the bridge at whatever time was convenient for him. Full-Tilt, in no position to do much of anything else, obliged, and made his way to what he knew as the command centre of Trypticon's base mode.

. . . . .

"Ah, greetings once again, Full-Tilt. I take it that you have been well so far?" Megatron asked from where he was sitting as he noticed the City-Speaker stepping onto the bridge, placing down the datapad he had been reading.

"Trypticon may not be how I remember him, but I still feel at home in his presence. I must ask however, as to why you requested me here?"

Standing from his command chair, Megatron strode up to the central terminal, and brought up old video footage of Trypticon, as the great saurian Titan transformed out of his alt-mode during a battle of some sort, Autobot flightframes circling around him.

"In all the time we have known Trypticon, he has very rarely communicated with us. Aside from the occasional grunt of acknowledgment, and roaring battle cry, he has mostly stood by in silent allegiance to the Decepticon cause."

"He speaks no more? A shame, he could be a wonderful wordsmith at times," Full-Tilt interjected.

"Yes, and because of this, along with no means of reading his processor, like somebot such as yourself can, we have not been able to truly understand his personality. At least, other than an old grudge with Metroplex that is. I had hoped that you would be able to shed light on our friend's secretive past."

For the first time since his awakening, something of a smile appeared on Full-Tilt's faceplates."I would be more than happy to tell you the story of Trypticon." He said, sitting himself on the ground cross-legged, his staff miraculously levitating just above the floor as he placed it down in front of himself.

"Now, where to begin…"

. . . . .

_In the ages of antiquity, in the early days of Cybertron, the metal world's surface had begun to become populated with those who had become newly sparked from the great wellspring of life, the Well of Allsparks. _

_Primus, the great creator of these Cybertronians, had since retreated into the Well himself, satisfied that this world would be safe under the watchful optic of his children, The Thirteen of Primus, or the "Primes" as they would be known as._

_However, in time, a drastically different form of life began to emerge from the great wellspring. Until this time, it was the Predacons of Onyx Prime that were the largest of the Cybertronian races, but these new colossal beings made them seem almost miniscule in comparison. Standing unfathomably tall, their vastness unknown, these new Cybertronians were truly fitting of the name of Titans. _

_And as if by Primus' design, a Titan stepped forth for each of the Thirteen Primes, ready to serve as great defenders of Cybertron, and had a seemingly natural instinct to protect the people of Cybertron, their alternate modes serving as shelter whilst the fledgling planet developed._

_However, dark days were soon to come, as what has come to be known as the Great Cataclysm fell upon Cybertron, as a flurry of meteors and debris pummeled the planet for centuries, killing off most life on the world. And in these times of death and despair, the Titans remained steadfast in their duty to protect. _

_The Predacons, having been the most isolated from the rest of Cybertronian society, were not well prepared for such an event, and many of their kind perished. Quick to heed the word of Onyx, he guided the few survivors aboard Chela, his Titan, in a desperate act to save his people. His brother, Micronus, followed suit, the Titan Prion taking the Mini-cons off of Cybertron at almost the same time as Chela's departure._

_Caught up in the astral storm, Prion was forced to land not too far from home, on Luna-1. The whereabouts of Onyx Prime and his Predacons, however, would remain a mystery to the people Cybertron…_

. . . . .

"That is… incredible," Megatron said, trying to write down as much as he could on a data-pad, although he had a suspicion that Soundwave was recording it all anyways. "Almost all records from these ancient times have been lost. None of us even knew what became of the Predacons, only that a few stragglers survived within the Titans of the other Primes."

"Yes, there were few remainders after the Great Cataclysm, and most of them simply tried to help rebuild the broken world. Tell me, do any still exist?" Full-Tilt asked.

"Only one, and only a partial Predacon at that. Deathsaurus, one of my most trusted generals."

"Well, that is very much a Predacon style name. I believe in their old language, it would be along the lines of _Deszaras_, although I never interacted with them enough to fully comprehend it."

"And I by no means wish to rush you, but you still have yet to reach where Trypticon's story begins."

"Ah yes, well you see...

. . . . .

_Even after each member of the Thirteen had received a Titan of their own, Primus still saw fit to create more of these giants, even creating many new springs of energon as to properly accommodate his new creations. _

_And from this second batch of Titans, was one of the few that was clearly designed for combat, with a Predacon-like saurian root mode, and battle station alternate mode, Trypticon was born. _

**-The Past-**

Looking on from a high clifftop, Megatronus watched on as the new Titan began to lumber it's way towards him. Usually, it was either Quintus' or Alchemist's duty to greet Titans in particular, however with them indisposed, he had been 'volunteered' for it by Prima.

"It resembles a Predacon of sorts, sir. Are you certain Onyx would not be better suited to meet them?" The young mech next to Megatronus asked.

"No, he's off making sure his people don't shred themselves apart. Besides, Full-Tilt, this gives us an excellent opportunity for you to practice your skills. City-Speakers are to be a very important aspect of our world should more Titans emerge." Megatronus reassured, firmly patting Full-Tilt on the shoulder.

As the new Titan made its way ever closer, quakes abounding with every step they took, it began to look around at the world with curious gaze, fresh optics taking in Cybertron before them, their matte grey, orange and teal colors shimmering in Hadean's midday light. Finally reaching the cliff, the Titan leaned down, placing optic level with Megatronus and Full-Tilt.

"Greetings there, youngspark," Megatronus greeted with a wave. "I am Megatronus Prime, and I welcome you to Cybertron. Tell me, what name and duty has Primus bestowed upon you?"

The fresh Titan stood unmoving for a moment, until it's optics reset themselves, and massive maw opened slightly to speak.

"_**I AM TRYPTICON**_," his voice boomed in the deep, almost ancient tone shared by most Titans. "_**AND I SERVE NOT THE PRIMES, BUT THE PEOPLE OF CYBERTRON.**_"

"Ah, I see," Megatronus said, his sly grin obscured by his battle mask. "Then at any rate, I shall defer you to my associate here, Full-Tilt. He is no Prime, but a City-Speaker, and I am more than certain you two will get along splendidly," he finished. Yep, no way Full-Tilt was getting out of this now.

"_**CITY SPEAKER?**_" Trypticon questioned.

"Ah, yes, um, well..." Full-Tilt stammered, stepping forwards. "It is a new order, of sorts. A position meant for helping Titans communicate with the average Cybertronian. Although, it would seem that it won't be entirely necessary, seeing as you already possess much better speech than most Titans."

"_**A MENTOR WOULD STILL BE REQUIRED, AS I KNOW NOTHING OTHER THAN NAME AND PURPOSE. IF YOU ARE TRAINED IN WORKING WITH TITANS, THEN PERHAPS YOU COULD GUIDE ME FORTH,**_" Trypticon said.

…

Far off across the shimmering plains, another Titan and their chosen watched on as Trypticon now lumbered away, presumedly taking Full-Tilt with them.

"_**I DO NOT TRUST THIS ONE. HE DOES NOT SERVE YOU AND THE OTHER PRIMES, THIRTEEN.**_" The Titan said. The companion resting on his shoulder merely gave a short laugh at Metroplex's concern.

"Please, Metroplex, I'm certain they are a nice enough bot," the youthful Prime responded. "And you heard them just as well as I, they might not serve the Primes, but he surely serves Primus should his function be to protect his people."

Metroplex only growled, and thought it best to keep a watchful optic on this Trypticon, even if Thirteen was against it.

_The years passed by, Cybertronian society growing steadily, up until the Great Cataclysm. However, even after such ruinous disaster, hope was not yet lost, as the world rebuilt itself anew. Unfortunately, such times of prosperity could never truly last, not on a world forged from war like Cybertron. Nobody had seen the betrayal coming, when Prima struck down Thirteen, and Megatronus' sacrifice to save a gravely injured Solus. With three Primes dead in one day, some Primes began to turn on each other as well, while the others began to go the way of their brothers Onyx and Micronus, and ventured beyond what they saw as a now tainted Cybertron, bringing a shard of the Allspark to seed their destined planets with Primus' light._

_All, except for Trypticon and Metroplex._

_Filled with great grief for the death of his closest friend, Metroplex descended into madness, and began to take it out on the people he once swore to protect, but also the one he had always been wary of, Trypticon… _

"He had thought that because Trypticon swore to protect the masses instead of the Primes, that he was the one at fault for the death of Thirteen. It took unfathomable power to finally disable Metroplex, and I cannot say how long such a feat took us to accomplish. In the many ages after the War of the Primes, we did the best we could to help rebuild once more, and helped protect the innocent in times of war.

"As the times marched further on, Cybertron became stable once more, under the rule of Nova Prime. His forces were that of such strength, they had no need for our protection any longer, and so Trypticon and myself went dormant, and from there I assume that you know the rest." Full-Tilt finished.

"Incredible…" Megatron said after a moment of silence. "So much history, lost to time. I thank you deeply for sharing such information with me. And I can't help but feel I've offset you, as you were clearly good friends with my namesake." he said apologetically.

Full-Tilt merely held up a hand at the notion. "Do not feel you must apologise. Megatronus would have been humbled to know his sacrifice still carried weight in the modern world," Full-Tilt said, pulling out an amulet with the bright red emblem of his lost friend, inspecting it with a somber smile.

"With Cybertron fallen to a tyrant who reminds me much of Prima, and Trypticon having already joined you and your Decepticons, it would seem that I will do the same. You have shown nothing but kindness to a stranger, and are a very honorable mech, I cannot allow a debt to go unpaid."

"If you are certain of your desire to fight by our side, then I am pleased to welcome you to the Decepticons," Megatron said, as the two shook on it as they stood, and Megatron began to explain the formalities of one joining the Decepticons.


	18. Chapter 17: Test Subjects and Big Plans

**A/N: And once again, we swing back to Cybertron to see what devious deeds Optimus has been up to...**

* * *

It had given Optimus Prime a rather nasty and sudden headache when he read Prowl's report that Ultra Magnus had, much to his dismay, not stayed in a coma, or better yet, died, and that he was as alive and well as one could be. Thankfully though, the best news he had received in a long time arrived back from Prowl later on in the same report, and his spirits lifted for the time being.

When Prowl had first put forth the idea of creating super soldiers to counter the Decepticons' notorious Phase-Sixers, the prospect was a bold one, but without knowing what made them tick, there wasn't any real hope in such things coming to fruition.

That was, of course, until he was sent a full report on every bit of coding and hardware that went into creating them. He dared not question how, as such dark methods of probing the mind were beyond his realm of understanding, but it did explain why Prowl had insisted on taking Overlord with them onboard the _Lost Light_.

It still didn't make up for said Decepticon getting loose and nearly killing his son for a second time, so he had made sure to start withholding some things from Prowl. Still more trustworthy than Ultra Magnus of course, but he was confident the cold-sparked Praxian would knife Jazz in the back whilst he was recharging in their own berth if he thought it would help further his own agenda.

He let out a heavy sigh, now realising just how fragged up his high command was; the ever-backstabbing and groveling SIC Ultra Magnus, the seemingly deranged, paranoid captain of the Cybertron Defence Force, Red-Alert, and a Chief Science Officer who probably belonged in an asylum, Perceptor. He really only could trust his sons, and Ratchet of course.

However fortunate or unfortunate for Optimus, Perceptor had requested his presence in his laboratory. It wasn't that long a journey, as it was connected via a secret passageway in the Primal Palace for easy access. Making his way down the dimly lit passage, he hoped that his resident mad scientist had something good waiting for him.

Reaching the end of the passageway, and opening the door at the end of it, Optimus stepped into the cavern that passed for Perceptor's laboratory, tightly packed with various equipment and workstations, stains and burn marks scattered about from what one could gather to be failed experiments. However, telling the ones made by the _other_ eccentric scientists apart was something he wasn't in the mood for today.

Optimus didn't have to go far to find who he was after, as he walked into the room he had been told to find him in. There he found Perceptor, the hunched black mech, stained with various chemicals, limping around a stasis-pod, and working on the various terminals and life-support systems.

"Ahh, lord Optimus, thank you for coming down into my humble domain," Perceptor oozed in his thick higher-Iaconian accent, bowing even further than his crippled posture already placed him.

"Yes yes, enough of the pleasantries, Perceptor. I hear you have news on our little science experiment?" Optimus inquired.

"But of course my liege, great progress has been made in the replication of the Phase-Sixers. I must say, it's been quite tricky, but nothing formulaic analysis and good old fashioned trial and error have not solved," Perceptor said, as he ushered Optimus closer to the stasis-pod that housed their soon-to-be super soldier. A mech painted in faded green and maroon, both wheels and rotors visible on him, bobbed up and down in the glowing nucleon mixture, various tubes and apparatus hooked up to their body.

"The specimen has been performing exquisitely, and they are almost ready to be brought out of stasis for trial runs."

"It's not just a specimen, Perceptor. I highly doubt you've never heard of Springer before we brought him here. If he is to be our next step in Autobot warfare, then you would do better to show the bare minimum of respect."

"Ah, my apologies my lord. I sometimes get, shall be say, carried away with it. Such fascinating experiments, so hard to not be caught up in the moment!" Perceptor said with the oh-so disturbing laugh Optimus had become accustomed to by now.

"Believe me, I am well aware of your shortcomings within and outside of the sciences," Optimus said with a glare. "As you were saying, how long do you think it will be until he can be brought out for trials?"

"Oh, not very long, my lord. I'd wager another day or so at most, just to make sure his new enhancements have set right with his protoform. No use in such a weapon if he falls to pieces the moment they take a step."

"Hmm, but of course. Keep me updated, I have other matters to attend to today," Optimus said.

"Such matters wouldn't happen to involve our resident sleeping giant, would it my liege? Such a loss in our forces has been devastating, perfect for crushing Decepticons, don't you agree?" Perceptor asked.

"So long as this City-Speaker that the Mistress of Flame has sent here is as good as she claims them to be, it will only be a matter of time before Metroplex awakens, and the next phase in our plans may commence."

* * *

The drive to the bustling dockyards of Iacon were dull as usual, the special elevated roads for military personnel being mostly vacant, as Optimus could only assume they pulled aside to allow their lord and master to pass.

The dockyards themselves were alive with the sound of bots and machinery transferring cargo between large warehouses and the various starships. In the distance of the vast complex, he could see the bays in which his warships were manufactured, all built in a similar design to the Autobot flagship, the _Ark_.

However, Optimus Prime was not here for sightseeing or venting down the necks of the workers, he was here on more diplomatic purposes. As he reached the designated landing pad, he saw a large shuttle descending from the overcast sky, certainly not of Cybertronian origin, although brandishing the Autobot sigil, along with what he knew to be a symbol of the world of origin, Caminus.

As the boarding ramp lowered, two femmes stepped forth from the ship. The one in front was covered in Cybertronian religious symbols, and her wings were adorned with intricate etchings in gold, the vibrant markings on her face giving away that she was the City-Speaker in question. She also had a necklace that possessed a small caricature of the Matrix. The second was clearly a guard of some kind, battle scars across her heavy armor, with weapons holstered for all to see, and carrying an energon spear in-hand. The guard gave a fist-over-spark salute and a curt nod, whereas the City-Speaker went into a deep bow with her arms outstretched.

"Oh great Optimus Prime, I thank you for being most gracious enough to greet us to your world yourself. I am Windblade, the City-speaker for which you sent for. And this is Chormia, my personal guard and assistant," Windblade said, rising back up.

"Welcome, the both of you, to Cybertron. If you would follow me, I shall take you to Metroplex myself," Optimus said.

"Why my liege, it would be an honor for you to show us to the Titan in distress!" Windblade said, all too excitedly, as she transformed and jetted off without even the faintest clue as to where Metroplex was.

Optimus turned back from watching the City-speaker fly off as he heard Chromia let out a heavy sigh, facepalming. "Apologies, lord Optimus. Windblade tends to become over excited easily. Even I have trouble keeping up with her sometimes."

"No, no, it's fine. Perhaps her whimsicalness may lighten the usually dour mood Iacon has fallen into since we drove away the Decepticons," Optimus said, as he transformed back into his truck mode. "Come, hopefully she will catch up with us after her fly-by of the city."

With that, Chromia transformed into her armored cycle mode, and Optimus led her along to where Metroplex towered over part of Iacon, really hoping that City-speaker would remember to come back.

* * *

"Oh dear Primus, It's worse than I could have imagined!" Windblade cried out, as she entered into the Processor chamber of the great city-former Metroplex. Stains of rust crawled up the walls, and in a general state of disrepair, along with the obvious blast marks and hole in the wall wherest one could surmise a powerful blast had struck Metroplex's head. Had it not been for Red-Alert converting the sleeping giant into the new HQ of the Cybertron Defense Force, the imposing figure would have been totally vacant.

"Whatever could have caused such damage? There's so much of the processor that are just, just missing!" Windblade said, tracing her fingers against the ancient nodes and capacitors of the Titan's processor.

"A battle with another Titan, one by the name of Trypticon, ally to the Decepticons, it was some kind of old grudge or something. They ended up levelling an entire continental plate, and added an impressive sized dent into the ground. Thankfully, from what I understand, they did not fare any better after their fight," Optimus said.

"Well, you need not worry, I'll make sure you get all better..." Windblade said to Metroplex, petting the large processor as if it were a pet of some kind, and began to look over the various panels, looking for a way to patch in.

"At this point, she won't be all that responsive, so if you have any other information for her, just send a messenger along to me, or wherever our quarters will be," Chromia said.

"Yes, of course. And we will sort out such arrangements once Windblade is finished with… whatever it is City-speakers do, exactly."

"I've known her over a million years, and I still can't get her to give a cohesive answer." Chromia said with a smirk.

"Then I wish you both the best of luck, and I shall be off," Optimus said, exiting from the Processor chamber, and began to wander aimlessly through the halls of Metroplex. Briefly passing by the command centre, he could overhear what he had become most accustomed to; the arguing of his top brass. Specifically, of Red-Alert and Scattershot, the two top security officers he had. He lingered just long enough to hear a final shout, as Scattershot and that Vehicon he was fond of stormed out of the command centre, nearly running into him.

"Gah, watch it you- Oh, my deepest apologies, lord Optimus," Scattershot said with a bow, nervousness filling his voice once realising his mistake. "Had I know you to be visiting, I wouldn't of been to brash."

"Stand on your own two pedes, soldier, you need not fear repercussions for a simple misstep. However, I would like to inquire into what you and Red-Alert were arguing over this time?" Optimus asked.

"Oh, that old basketcase refusing to grant extra resources into hunting down the Decepticon resistance forces on Cybertron, oh-so adamant that we should only be concerned with an attack from their fleet."

Optimus pondered for a moment more, before saying, "Speak to me at the palace later, and we can hash out the details then. It is imperative we find this resistance force, especially now that they have general Tankor and the Combaticons with them."

Scattershot thanked him for his time, and he and his assistant ran off, leaving Optimus free to leave Metroplex, and finally have some time to himself for a change.


	19. Chapter 18: Crisscross

**A/N: Here we are, with a chapter I know some of you have been waiting for.**

. . . . .

The early morning was still, and would have been completely silent had it not been for the rustling of the trees in the wind, and the crunch of their boots in the light dusting of snow. The MECH agents continued through the woods, guns locked and loaded for whatever might lie ahead for them, which was still a great uncertainty. A while ago, their sensors had picked up an explosion coming from this region, one from an unknown energy source they had never detected before, and just this morning some sort of signal was broadcast from this region, a distress beacon of some sort. And a couple minutes behind them now, they had found traces of a strange blue substance covering shrapnel and mechanical parts.

Cresting the hill, they stood watching at a desolate clearing, scorch marks everywhere, and lying in the centre, was some kind of wreckage.

"You two, circle around from the other side, three of you on me. The rest of you, set up a perimeter around this site. Stun is preferable, but kill if you have to," the apparent leader of the operation said.

"Yes, commander," the troops responded, and set about carrying out their orders, as Mech-1 and his small squad approached the mangled mess of metal that stuck out of the ground. Stepping past the outer area, and into the main part of the wreck revealed just how large a vessel it was.

"Sir, the other two should have shown up by now." One of the troops went.

"I have a feeling we aren't alone, guns up-"

Springing up from the floor was a netting of some sort, entrapping the four of them, now dangling from the highest remaining point of the shuttle, and now able to see where the rest of them were bound.

"My my my, I certainly wasn't expecting the mighty MECH to fall for such an obvious trap.. Thankfully, you showed up at all, so this won't be a complete waste of my time." A voice came from somewhere hidden. All of a sudden, a tall, metallic figure emerged from nothing, although her active camouflage did shimmer to some degree, and stepped towards them.

"I advise you to let us go, whoever you are. I can assure you, MECH's capabilities are not to be underestimated," Mech-1 said, in an attempt to take a stand.

"Believe me, I have much better things to do than start a rivalry some wannabe paramilitary group," Arcee jabbed, finally cutting the net loose, watching as they dropped back to the ground.

"But in reality, I've been intrigued by your group's actions. Secret as you may try to be, Cybertronian tech always picks up your antics. And besides, I doubt you would turn down what I have to offer."

"Really now? And what could you possibly have that we want?" Mech-1 asked.

"The one thing you are always after; a technological edge." Arcee said with a sly grin. At the sound of this, Mech-1 finally lowered his rifle.

"Go on," he said warily.

"A few months ago, you had a run-in with my faction's primary enemy, the Decepticons. And if you are wondering why you don't remember encountering giant alien robots, its because they were in their alt-modes, as Earth vehicles transporting some device or whatever."

"Of course, it's no wonder they evaded us so well… Alright, you have my intrigue, but I can't make deals. You'd have to talk to the Doctor himself for that."

"Then by all means, lead the way," Arcee said. And after a few minutes of untying the downed MECH agents from Arcee's traps, they returned to their vehicles, and as Arcee transformed, disappeared as the first rays of sun crested the mountains.

* * *

"You sure we're gonna make it in time?" Jack asked, as Airachnid sped down the streets of Jasper. It had been a long day for Airachnid, having only gotten back to the _Nemesis_ less than half on hour ago, and she was trying to make up for lost time.

"Trust me Jack, even if we are a minute or two late, your mother doesn't seem like the person who would take that drastic measures to missing curfew." Airachnid said in an attempt to reassure her partner. Then again, it had been a very long time since she really knew June, so she wasn't totally certain on that either.

"Yeah, but this is what? The fifth missed curfew this month? She is going to be upset, no matter what." Jack said, as the rounded the corner onto his street, and saw that his mom's car wasn't parked in their driveway as it usually was.

"Huh, guess you got off lucky this time," Airachnid said as they pulled up into the driveway. Hopping off, Jack reached into his backpack, and got out the remote for the garage. As it opened, they saw standing right behind it was his mom, arms crossed and a stern look on her face.

"Oh, uh, hi mom… Wasn't expecting you to be home," Jack said nervously as he wheeled Airachnid into the garage.

"My car had to go in for a tune up, a friend from work was nice enough to drive me back home. So, you wanna tell me why you're home late again?" June asked, cutting straight to the point.

"Well, you know, I guess I got a little carried away with…"

"Your 'Science Fiction' club, I know." June said, walking over to the workbench against the wall, leaning against it. She patted the side of it, indicating for Jack to come over as well.

"I'm not mad, you know that right?" she asked.

"Wait, you aren't?" Jack said.

"Quite the opposite if I'm being honest. I think it's great that your finally back to hanging out with friends again, and Rafael and Miko seem nice. I guess I'm also glad I don't have to chauffeur you around anymore," she said, as she walked up to the sleek motorcycle in question.

"How did you ever come across this bike anyway?" June asked.

"Well, I guess it was a 'right place, right time' scenario, really. I was getting chased down by some… bullies, and there was a nice lady selling this old thing for cheap." Jack said.

"Hmm, that sure sounds about right." June said, as she ran her hands over the handlebars, the memories of days spent on the open road coming back to her.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Jack.

"I didn't mention it at the time, but when you first brought her home, I thought I recognized that color scheme. It's awfully similar to that of the bike I had when I was your age."

"Woah, back up. You think I have the same motorcycle you had?"

Before Jack could say anymore, June took his hand, and brought him over to the motorcycle, and guided it down the body to where she had found the familiar Decepticon sigil the night it arrived.

"You tell me Jack, because I sure think so," she said with a smile. "You can show yourself, 'Nid. No point in hiding now." Stepping back from her altmode, as they could have sworn they heard Airachnid mumbling some Cybertronian obscenities under her breath, they watched as she transformed into her root mode, crouching down in the small space.

"Hi June," Airachnid said warily with a faint wave. "I know that you're probably upset that I hadn't revealed myself to you, even after you figured it out-"

"Please, Airachnid. I could never stay mad at you," June cut her off, as she gave her old guardian a hug against her leg. Not expecting such a reaction, Airachnid lingered for a moment, before resting her hand against June's back.

"Hate to break up the moment, but you think I could get the whole story between you two?" Jack asked.

"Maybe some other time, hon. It's a little late for storytime." June said.

"You might not be up for anything else tonight, but rules are rules, and because I've been seen by another civilian, I guess I have to take you back to base ASAP to meet with Megatron. Assuming that's alright with you?"

"You kidding? After how much you've hyped up your boss, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't upset that I didn't get to meet him."

"Then we'd better get a move on, don't want to keep you two up all night long with this." Airachnid said, as she transformed back down into her alt-mode. Before getting on, June ran over to a crate in the corner of the garage, and rummaged around for something. She came back a few moments later, now wearing a well-worn helmet, similar in color and design to Airachnid.

"After all these years, you kept that old thing around?" Airachnid asked with a chuckle.

"An old keepsake, to remember you by," June replied with a reminiscing smile, as she climbed on, sticking Jack with taking the backseat.

. . . . .

Traffic had not been a problem to them at all, the streets of Jasper almost empty at this hour of the evening, aside from the occasional passersby and other cars on the road. However, filled with such elation over finally reuniting with her old charge, Airachnid let her guard slip, assuming that the cars pulling up behind her were civilians.

She didn't have time to react when the armored semi came barreling out of nowhere, running her off the road. And the last thing she remembered was seeing the Darbys knocked out beside her, and a familiar helicopter-former descending towards them...

* * *

Jack woke up with a start, the shock of the icy cold water that had just been splashed at him quickly bringing him to his senses. He tried to stand, but found that his hands were bound behind the chair he was sitting in, people in dark military uniforms and masks all around the warehouse they were in.

"Sir, the boy is awake," the one still holding the bucket said, looking back at some sort of command centre full of computers and large monitors.

"Yes yes, whatever, MECH-1. He is none of our concern anyhow, Arcee is the one who wanted him and his mother," came the reply of an older man in a white lab coat and short, wiry white hair, and a seeming bionic hand as he gestured towards them.

"What have you done with my mom? And where's Airachnid?" Jack almost screamed, still fighting against his bonds.

"Ah yes, Airachnid. She is quite the specimen indeed…" the apparent leader figure said, as he finally turned away from his work, and moved towards Jack. "It truly is fascinating, really, how similar two species from other ends of the galaxy can be so alike," they said, holding up some sort of x-ray scan, clearly of Airachnid. "And as for your mother, I'm sure Arcee can tell you all you need to know," the mysterious man said, as he stepped around him, and cut lose the ropes that bound him to the chair.

"Not even going to introduce yourself, huh? Going for the big-bad cartoon villain shtick." Jack said as he stood up, still wary of the armed soldiers around him.

"Considering that it doesn't bother me much who knows of me, I suppose I can say. I am Doctor Arkeville, current leader of MECH, and all these soldiers with big guns. Which is precisely why you should get out of my sight, before I have to escort you out to Arcee." Arkeville said, gesturing to the large open doors of the warehouse. Without another word, Jack began walking towards the exit, quickly glancing back to see an unconscious Airachnid, tied down to a large metal slab, with a heavy-duty drill next to her.

Stepping out of the warehouse and into the cool desert night, he found Arcee leaned up against the exterior of the building, clearly arguing with somebody over their hand-held communicator.

"...and for the last time, Prowl, your the one who let me do this mission. You only have yourself to blame… look, I have to go, a human requires my attention," she said, as she quickly subspaced her communicator.

"Troubles with the boss?" Jack angrily quipped.

"Can it, kid, before I make you into roadkill," Arcee said, leaning down and picking him up by the scruff of his neck.

"Don't see why you couldn't back when you ran us off the road."

"Because I wanted to have a little bit of fun whilst being stuck here, and what better way than to torment the bug queen's little humans," she said, hoisting Jack up even higher. "You see this primitive excuse for an industrial zone? Hidden here somewhere is your mother. If you can free her by, lets say, midnight, you both get to walk away from this. Any questions?"

"Yeah, why bother working with MECH to do this? You sure seem capable enough."

"Simple, really. It's always been much easier for Autobots to take over planets if we first instigate a native uprising that sides with us, and MECH seemed more than happy to oblige once I told them they could take apart a certain 'Con for their research." Airachnid said, as she dropped Jack to the ground. "Run along now, clock's ticking."

Standing himself up, not sure what else to do, Jack ran off in search of his mother, unsure as to just how long there was left until midnight.

. . . . .

Running throughout the abandoned factory complex, Jack had no idea where to start. First, he rushed in and out of every building he could manage to break into, most of the doors having been boarded up or locked. Stumbling out of the rooftop access, he looked up at the sound of a helicopter, and saw that Arcee had been following his progress. The he realised how stupid he must of looked to her, trying to find his mom in places that Arcee simply could not get into anyways.

Running along one of the overhead catwalks from building to building, it wasn't until he heard the clanging of metal, and turned around to see Arcee stood their behind him.

"As much as I like to watch you struggle, your time's running out. So, here's a hint." she said, and with a flick of a switch on some device she heald, a spotlight turned on, shining up at where June was, face obscured by her helmet, hanging unconscious from a crane halfway across the compound.

Finding the nearest way down he could, Jack raced across to save his mother, unaware of how little time he had left.

. . . . .

In a fit of rage, Dr. Arkeville slammed his bionic fist into the abdomen of the still unconscious Airachnid. Over the past 15 minutes, they had worn down three of their most advanced drill-bits, each one more powerful than the last. And yet, they still had barely made any progress, having only just breached the outer surface of the Cybertronian's body.

Unbeknownst to them, Airachnid had been awake for that last attempt, and needless to say, she was having a real hard time of keeping quiet through it. Had it not been for some sort of jammer that she had deduced to be attached to her, she would have called back to base for backup by now. The real threat however, was still Arcee, and whatever her plans were.

Judging that now of all times was just right, she used her acid-tipped spider legs to corrode the metal chains that bound her, and leaping up bashed aside the drill that had been used on her. Before the MECH troopers could fully comprehend what was going, they began firing on the metal giant.

Airachnid transformed out her arm blasters, and swiftly took out the various computer setups that she had been hooked up to, no doubt in an attempt to understand how Transformers ticked. Taking a heavy pelting from a mounted gun on an upper level, she ducked behind one of the large trucks for cover. Quickly spinning some web with her spider limbs, she fashioned a sling of sorts, and produced an acidic orb as it's payload. She leaned out from cover for just a second, enough to identify exactly where the heavy weapons emplacement was. Jumping out from cover entirely, she aimed high and let loose, and watched as the acid bomb exploded, and began to corrode away the large gun, and the catwalk supporting it.

Airachnid then transformed into her spider mode, and swiftly maneuvered her way to what she identified as being the control centre of this operation. It wasn't until she got to it, and was about to dismantle the system with extreme force, that she then noticed Dr. Arkeville, holding up an absurdly large rifle, and heard as it gave off the familiar sound of an energy weapon charging.

"I must admit, you Transformers are quite tenacious. But let's see how well you last against your own tech," he said, as he fired a shot right into Airachnid's left shoulder.

Recoiling in pain, she kicked aside the mad doctor with one of her many limbs, and quickly lobbed a hastily made acid ball into the complex machinery, and ran out of the warehouse, determined to find her human partners.

. . . . .

After however long it had taken him, Jack finally got off the ladder once he reached the top of the large crane, and found his footing on the catwalk out to the end of the arm, where he saw his now awake and moving mother hanging from a rope tied around the hook, and that Arcee was once again hovering just overhead, now her own spotlight shone down upon him as he began walking towards the end of the crane arm.

"There… I made it, and just in time. See?" Jack shouted up to the Autobot huntress, holding out his phone to show that it only just struck midnight.

Arcee flew past him, and touched down at the top of the crane. "Bravo on your efforts, kid. But I'm not-so-sorry to say, that wasn't the deal. You were supposed to free your mother by midnight, not just reach her." Arcee said with a dastardly smile, as she transformed out one of her arm blades, and sliced down into the crane mechanism, cutting the line, sending June plummeting to the ground.

At the sound of a familiar engine's roar, Jack looked out over the edge to watch as Airachnid sped towards the crane, launching herself up using a dowend sheet of metal as a ramp, transforming into her root mode just in time to catch ahold of June with her insectoid arms, holding her close as she slung a web onto the tower.

"Miss me?" Airachnid quipped.

"Oh, you have no idea."

At the bottom of her swing, Airachnid placed June back on solid ground, and swung upwards still, letting go and slamming her fist square into Arcee's chest, knocking her right off the tower. She then raced over and grabbed Jack, and began to maneuver herself down the crane. By the time they reached the ground, June had run over and pulled Jack into a tight embrace.

"Oh honey, are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine mom, besides, you were the one in peril."

But the sounds of familiar rotors broke up their moment of peace, and an almost blinding spotlight was shone down upon them, along with a few of MECH's armored vehicles pulling up, troops piling out and aiming at them.

"Looks like it's the end of the road for you, little bug." Arcee said as she readied up her mounted weaponry.

*HONK HONK*

"What in the-"

And before either MECH or Arcee could know what had happened, Motormaster ploughed through the fence, crashing into multiple of MECH's vehicles. From behind him, Barricade drove in and transformed, pulling out his blasters. Thankfully, this did the trick, as it scared off most of the MECH agents.

"Ugh, worthless cowards." Arcee grumbled, as she transformed and took a fighting stance. What she had failed to notice, however, was the much larger helicopter-former that landed behind her. Blackout grabbed hold of Arcee's tail rotor, making her cry in pain.

"Lights out for you, creep." he said, as he spun himself a few times, and boosting himself into the air, threw Arcee with all his might.

"Damnit Blackout, we're meant to take 'Bots prisoner, not toss em 'road like training dummies." Motormaster said, as he checked his trail of carnage for any surviving MECH agents.

"Wait… Blackout? And is that Barricade?" June said, stepping out from where Airachnid had been covering her and Jack.

"June!" Blackout said with glee, stepping over to the group. "Gimme five, lil' lady." he said, having to practically place his hand on the ground, as June slapped it.

"We came as soon as Airachnid called in for backup. Figured we'd need a bit of heavy metal, too, so good thing we brought along Motormaster to scare off those MECH goons," Barricade said. "And I take it you've been well, June?"

"Aside from being kidnapped by Autobots and techno-terrorists? I can't complain."

"I'll catch up with you guys back to base. Bill is gonna want a full report on this mess." Blackout said, as he began to take pictures of the site for the file.

"Bill? As in, William Fowler?" June asked.

"Yeah, mom. He's the government handler for the 'Cons." Jack said.

"Huh, he always wanted to take after his father in being their liaison. Guess I shouldn't be too surprised."

"But yes, I would like to get back to the Nem- Trypticon, I mean. It's been a long day," Airachnid said as she transformed. Her human charges got on, and they began to drive off, Barricade and Motormaster following behind soon after.

* * *

On occasion, June had been told stories of Trypticon, the Deceptions' mighty base-former. But now that she stood at the base of the large Cybertronian warship, it threw out her old perception of scale she had for her extra-terrestrial friends. Once they reached the bridge, she was shown up the steps to the human's raised platform, where Jack promptly laid down on the couch, and saw somebody she hadn't in a very long time.

"Bill? Is that you?" June asked. The special agent in question looked up from his desk, one had had brought in once he realised he had been spending quite a bit of time at the Decepticon base, and locked eyes with the new arrival.

"June, it is you. Blackout called earlier, saying you got involved with one of the 'Bots. You doing alright?" Fowler asked, as he got up and stepped over to his old friend.

"Fine as I can be. This place… I know they are called 'city-formers' for a reason, but wow, this is all just one 'Con."

"Yeah, easy to get lost around the big guy sometimes." Fowler said, as he walked June over to his desk wedged in the corner, taking a seat. He reached across his desk, and poured them both a cup of coffee.

"Here, you look like you need it," he said, handing it over.

"Thank you. I'm new to this high-octane action, but something tells me your used to it by now."

"Sure is a lot different to the antics the three of us got up to with the 'Cons back in the day."

"Hmm, yeah. Speaking of which, any idea how Dan is doing? Haven't heard from him in an even longer time than you." June asked.

"I don't keep up with him as much as I'd like to, but 'Cade says he's doing just fine. In fact, he's one of our agents that works with the Decepticons, hence why he's allowed to work with Barricade still."

"Well, hopefully this is a sign that we might all meet back up again. Sooner rather than later, at least."

"Yeah, hopefully."

"Hey, another thing. How's 'Mister Roswell' himself doing?" June quipped, the two of them sharing a quick laugh.

"Dad's getting up there in age, but still going strong. Sometimes the 'Cons just visit him without even needing to be prompted on it. Really brightens his mood." William responded.

"Still hilarious, isn't it? The biggest conspiracy theory ever, and it's true. Just so happens nobody can know about it." June said.

"Well, I guess not every secret can stay hidden for long." William said, gesturing over to where Jack had fallen asleep on the couch.

The two shared more laughs as they talked further into the night, catching up on the years that had passed them by.

. . . . .

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Feedback is appreciated as always.**


	20. Chapter 19: Roswell, 1947

**The Past: 73 Years Ago**

. . .

With a great lurch, the _Harbinger_ exited from the space bridge, the large vortex closing soon after. Unfortunately, Shockwave's calculations were not all too correct, as they came out much further away from the planet than they had anticipated.

"Well, that's just great," Blackout said as he looked over the navigation charts, seeing that they were much closer to the 6th planet in the solar system, as opposed to the destined 3rd.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad," Airachnid said from the pilot's seat, as she steered them in the direction of their target planet. "This at least gives us a little bit of time to go over our plans."

"Plans for what exactly? Shockwave said it himself, it's been thousands of years since any Decepticon used this planet for anything. We don't even know what to plan for." Barricade said from the co-pilot's seat.

"Yeah, what if somebody's come along and colonized the place? Like the 'Squids or something."

"I highly doubt the Quintessons would come out this far into space," Barricade said.

"Whatever we run into, lets just hope none of Shockwave's weird experiments he warned us about are still running around." Airachnid said.

"Yeah, an army of resurrected beast-formers is one of the less desirable things we could run into." Blackout said, as he stood up and made his way out of the cockpit. "I'm heading down to the engine room. We didn't have much fuel when we took off, and I'd rather like it if we didn't end up stuck drifting through space."

. . . . .

"I thought you said we were going to make it?!" Airachnid shouted over comms, as she did her best to keep the _Harbinger_ steady during their entry into the target planet's atmosphere.

"No, I said we have enough fuel to make it. If I had known about the damn meteor shower, I would have been more specific!" Blackout yelled back into his commlink over the roar of the engine room, as he did his best to keep the ship from shutting down entirely.

"Didn't you say you learned about engineering from your sire?"

"I said he was a mechanic, not a spaceship repair-bot!"

"Now's not the time for arguing, you two!" Barricade called out, as he used one of the ship's turrets to try and blast away the larger oncoming space debris. No matter how many he shot down, it seemed that the only thing he was doing was putting on a spectacle for the natives down below. And now that they knew about a developing race, they couldn't just land anywhere.

"A big one hit the thrusters, I don't think the ship'll make it in one peice. Or us, if we stay on board when we hit the ground. I'll see you both at the escape pod." Blackout said, as he finished doing all he could. He stumbled his way out of the engine room, holding himself up against the way to keep himself from falling over.

Back on the other end of the ship, Airachnid set the navigation computer to "land" the ship in a remote location, far away from any native settlements. As she began to exit the cockpit to get to the escape pod, she saw as Barricade ran past her, going back towards the cockpit.

"What the Pit do you think you're doing?"

"Trust me on this one 'Nid, you'll be glad for what I'm about to do. Just go!"

Reaching the main console, Barricade set to work translating what their sensors had picked up on radio waves to be one of the planet's native languages, and broadcasting down a crude distress signal for where their escape pod will crash down at.

Racing down the halls of the ship, he made it to the single escape pod, that was just barely large enough to fit all three Decepticons. Jumping inside, he closed the hatch behind him, and slammed the large button labeled "EJECT" and the pod jettisoned out, and began its descent to where Barricade had plotted it to land.

"Hope you aren't claustrophobic or afraid of falling from orbit, because this ride is about to get a whole lot worse!"

* * *

Something fell from the sky that night, and for once in human history, it had been something other than meteors or assorted space-junk. It had been a message, from something, or someone beyond the stars, followed by multiple crash sites around the U.S. Most of which had been nothing more but shrapnel and debris of metal, that most likely came off of the big one that crashed down in Nevada.

But the message they received told them that, whoever theses aliens were, they weren't going to be on the ship, and instead sent them the area where they themselves would be coming down at, roughly 30 miles North of Roswell, New Mexico.

Driving up to the hastily put together barrier to keep out the prying eyes of the public, the black car came to a halt. A set of soldiers walked up to the car, and before they could say anything, the agent rolled down the window and showed their high-level clearance badge. The guards then backed away, and the agent drove on in past the military's setups, and stopped once he got up close to what he came here for.

Stepping out of his car, the basic personnel backed away as the well-dressed special agent walked forwards towards the large, smouldering canister that lay embedded in the desert sand, a small impact crater surrounding it, the setting sun faintly shimmering along the less damaged metal.

With a loud hissing sound, the soldiers tensed up, and watched as a section of the pod moved, transformed even, open. Slowly emerging from the smoke and steam, three enormous figures stepped forth, standing in silent observation of the humans around them, their puny guns aimed up at the giants.

The one stood off to the right, a white and black one with four eyes, slowly raised up their arms as if to surrender. "Uh, hi there? I guess this means you all got my message. Are you the one in charge?"

The special agent stepped up closer, pulling out his badge and raising it up to the alien arrivals. "Special agent James Fowler, of Sector Seven. My organization keeps tabs on things that are not necessarily of this Earth, including yourselves. And you might be?"

"I am Barricade of Praxus, and with me are Blackout and Airachnid. We are members of the Decepticon Resistance Forces."

"Resistance forces? Resisting what might I ask?"

"The Autobots," Barricade said, as he knelt down, and took out a holographic projector, and played footage from their war, showing the brutality of the Autobots' warfare. "We Decepticons are fighting an uphill war for freedom, and have nearly been driven from our homeworld of Cybertron, and the Autobots have already taken many other worlds. This planet, Earth as you call it, has been slated to be the site of a refugee ship of our high command once we can no longer hold ground planetside."

Agent Fowler pondered this information, as he kept watching. "So tell me Barricade, could these Autobots be expected to come after Earth?"

"Not anytime soon, no. But this world is within range of other Cybertronian colonies, and should those fall, there's no doubt they will find their way here next." Barricade said, subspacing the holo-projector.

"You three cant just stand out here forever, the locals will start showing up soon. Any chance you have a way to conceal yourselves?"

"Heh, yeah, you could say that." Barricade said. The three Decepticons looked around their immediate area, searching for new alternate modes. Blackout settled on a fairly primitive looking cargo-copter, but thankfully large enough to accommodate him. Airachnid scanned one of the many army motorcycles lying around. And Barricade decided on using the car agent Fowler had driven in with.

With their scans complete, they transformed into their new Earthly alternate modes, much to the surprise of the soldiers around them. Especially agent Fowler, as he was left staring at a police-styled variant of his own car.

"There is a top-secret weapons testing base under construction the next state over, near to where your ship crashed down. That's where you will stay until we can sort all of this out."

"Whatever you say, sir. Just lead the way."

Walking back to his car, agent Fowler signaled over to the on-site personnel. "Get the alien's craft onto a truck and bring it back to Homey Airbase. And get this area scrubbed, I don't want anybody to catch on what happened here."

As Fowler began to drive off the site, with his alien arrivals in tow, he made sure to have some of the army troops follow along just to make sure these Decepticons didn't try anything.

The soldiers and specialists got to work making sure it looked like nothing exciting ever happened here. Except for a lone busted-up weather balloon, to help with the cover story.


	21. Chapter 20: The Awakening

**A/N: And now for **_**another**_ **chapter that you all have probably suspected was coming. Hope you enjoy, and as always feedback is welcomed.**

* * *

Opening his optics in the darkness, Skywarp couldn't see a thing. All he knew was that everything hurt like the Pit, he must have taken a nasty fall. Tilting his head, he began to check himself over, only to find that his body was back to normal, and he could see his body perfectly despite the inky blackness surrounding him.

"Woah, this is trippy…" he said, his voice echoing countless times through the darkness. He tried to stand, but found that he wasn't even on a solid surface, and began to float aimlessly in the void. The weightlessness wasn't too unfamiliar for Skywarp, as dreams such as these had become something that occurs far more frequently in recent weeks.

An eerie groan emminated from below him, pulling him out of his now relaxed state. Looking down, Skywarp saw cracks beginning to form in the dark, streaks of bright white pouring out of them. He tried again to fly away, but his efforts were foiled when he was overcome with an odd sense of peace, as a great, ancient figure broke through, countless times larger than any Titan. Blinded by the light, all he could comprehend of the being was the word they spoke in the familiar calming tone, one had heard in countless dreams before.

"_**Awaken…"**_

. . . . .

Skywarp slowly onlined his optics, quickly covering them with his arm once he realised that somebody was rude enough to have a light shining directly into his face. He rolled over on his side, desperate to hold on to the piece of serenity that his strange dreams always seemed to give him.

Bat alas for him, he was pulled upwards from his rest and into a hug.

"Oh Skywarp, we were so worried about you," a voice he recognized to be Starscream said. Finally opening his optics, he saw that it was Knockout who had been shining a light at him, and Thundercracker was just standing out of the way in the middle of the room.

"Ugh, can't a bot get a good night's recharge without being disturbed?"

"Blame Starscream," was all Thundercracker said.

"Well, excuse me for being the one concered enough to call for a doctor when our brother started to glow like a small star, and magically obtain a new paint job." Starscream said, finally letting go of Skywarp.

Now able to finally check himself over, he was surprised to see that he did have a new paint scheme, one he definitely didn't go to sleep with. Gone were his scuffed grays and silvers, now replaced with a bright white, much like Starscream, and much more vibrant paint on his magenta accents.

"I'm… still dreaming."

"I'm afraid not. Your medical complications just got a whole lot more complicated," Knockout said, tucking away the portable kit he had been monitoring him with. "Because bots don't just start to glow and get their body changed. Unless they are chosen by the Matrix, which you sure haven't been."

"So, I'm guessing you wanna drag my aft back to the lab for even more tests? I swear, I'm spending half my time there."

"I won't drag you in, per say. I'll just get Breakdown to come and collect you should you not show up," Knockout said.

"Ugh, fine, I guess. I'll be there in like an hour or so."

Standing up, Skywarp did a few stretches to limber himself up, and walked towards the door of their quarters. He placed a hand on Thundercracker's shoulder, sticking a thumb back at Starscream and said, "Make sure this clown doesn't have a spark attack over me while I'm having my morning cube, will ya?"

"Unfortunately, I can't promise that," Thundercracker said, slipping him a rare smile at his brother's jab.

* * *

Once he had gotten his morning refuel in, he spent roughly half an hour of purposely distracting himself, mostly by interacting with the kids and their guardians when he bumped into them at the rec-room.

Eventually, he wandered his way down to the med-bay, walking into a seemingly calm setting. No rushing around to save a wounded soldier, no panic to find any spare painkillers and medical-grade energon like he had become accustomed to in medical centers and triages during the war. Just a simple, early-morning quiet, reminiscent of hospitals before the war.

Knowing the drill by now, he hopped up onto a medical berth, and Hook walked over to him.

"Huh. You really are looking different now. Any idea if you can change it? He asked offhandedly as he went about his examination.

"Not sure I'd want to. I kinda like it."

After another ten minutes or so, Hook finished up with whatever work he needed to get done, and punched in some code to have the results sent to his datapad, watching as the data streamed onto the screen in front of him.

Doing a double-take at the sight of the results, Hook set down the datapad, and grabbed his communicator.

"Uh, who are you calling, doc?" Skywarp asked.

"Megatron. And your brothers. They are going to want to see this," Hook replied.

. . . . .

With Megatron and the rest of the elite trine gathered in the med-bay, Hook gently set down a small glass disc of ash and white crystals on the central table.

"This isn't all you called us in for, right?" Thundercracker asked.

"No, this is just an example. These are the remaining particulites of light energon that came from the scraplet monster a few months ago. And what we assume to be what caused it to, ya know, do all the stuff it did," Mixmaster said.

Hook then brought out another, larger test tube of light energon, "This is roughly the amount of the stuff we found in Skywarp's system when we first discovered it," he said as he placed it down, the crystals giving off a faint glow.

Mixmaster then brought out a very large oil drum, placing it down, then bringing over yet another. "And this is the amount of stuff we pulled from Skywarp's systems this morning."

"Primus below… How long has this been building up for?" Starscream asked.

"We're not sure," said Hook. "But we do know how. From what we have monitored, the light energon is being created whenever he ingests normal energon. Most of it being processed and flowing throughout his system, but part of it becomes, no, tainted isn't the right word… mutated, into the alien substance."

"And do you know what might have happened had you not removed the light energon from him?" Megatron asked.

"Our best guess is that his powers would become further enhanced, seeing how it cured his original ailments, but we aren't sure about his mental state," Knockout said. "The strange dreams, and the recent development of visual and auditory hallucinations, _might_ have gotten worse. But again, just a theory. We haven't seen any sign of the stuff corroding his processor."

Megatron stood there for a time, soaking in his medical staff's report. Such a thing having happened from such a small dosage of light energon, it was peculiar. Then again, in the few times Skywarp had been cleared to go on missions, he had performed exceptionally well, given how he had been so ill in recent times.

A risky idea came to mind.

"Remind me again, how small a percentage did you believe slipped into his medical IV?"

"Just enough to be indistinguishable from normal energon… Oh no, whatever it is Megatron, the answer is no!" Hook said.

"Oh, come now. I have yet to even explain my plan."

"You don't have to sir, I know that look in your optics. Whatever it is, it's a risk, and a big one at that."

"Let… the buckethead… speak, it sure won't be his worst idea ever," Skywarp said sleepily from where he had been resting after the small operation.

"I propose that I be exposed to the effects of light energon, at full force." Megatron said.

"Ex-fragging-SCUSE you?" Hook screamed, pointing a finger up to his leader's face. "As your physician, I refuse to allow you to undergo such a, quite frankly, stupid proceedure."

"Hook, my old friend, please," Megatron said, placing his hands on his CMO's shoulders. "I know that I've been trying to tone back the risk taking, but I have an idea on what must be done. If such newfound strength and agility came to a mech who, only a few months beforehand, was slowly dying, imagine what it could do to help us win against the Autobots. This might also be just what we need to wake up our fallen comrades," he said with a gesture to the three Decepticons in stasis the next room over.

Hook stood silent, face held in both his hands, mulling over the insanity that he has had to endure whilst on this planet.

"Why do I even try to argue with you, when you just bring out that old grand orator charm. Fine, I'll ready a medical tank for maximum infusion. But I sure hope to Primus you know what exactly you are up to," Hook said, going off into the room to prepare.

"Believe me, I am doing this myself because I would rather not risk it on anyone else."

. . . . .

He wasn't sure how long he had been in the tank for, but as Megatron opened his optics, he saw that he was no longer in the medbay, or anywhere familiar to him. He was laid down, staring up into eternal nothingness, the world around him was nothing but blackness.

Standing himself up, he watched as the world began to form around him as he stepped forwards, rocky canyonlands rising out of the ground, dead trees dotted about the landscape. Pressing onwards, he came to an outcropping of the cliff he was on, overhanging the vast opening in the ground, stretching out for miles everywhere he looked.

Stood at the very edge, a figure began to form out of nothing, indescribable, yet hauntingly familiar. They turned to face Megatron, and he saw that this strange being had bright white eyes, leaving him with an uneasy feeling…

. . . . .

Megatron woke up as he hit the floor of the med-bay, keeping himself up with his hands and knees, feeling drained from the experiment. Staring down at his hands, he saw just how shiny the metal was. As Hook rushed over to help him to his feet, he saw that his entire frame was spotless, managing to gleam in the dull light of the med-bay's back room.

"C'mon, speak to me Megatron," Hook said, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him. "How do you feel?"

"Tired, yet refreshed." Megatron said after a moment of pause, as his thoughts and attention finally returned to his surroundings. He began to walk towards the door into the rest of the medbay, the last of the light energon dripping off and leaving a trail, and headed for the exit.

"And just where do you think you're going? We still have to check you over, make sure you are in a stable enough condition, that sort of thing." Knockout said, trying to keep up with his leader as he walked on past him, and out into the rest of the ship.

"I shall return for examination, Knockout. For now, there is something that I must attend to." Megatron said, as he began to run towards the bridge, leaving the medic behind in confusion.

Once he reached the bridge, he ran for the nearest terminal, and began his search for that place in his dream- no, his vision, he corrected himself. And that figure, who had appeared from nothing, was just how Skywarp described his own visions. It all had to mean _something_, and he had to find out what.

Then, he found it. The unfathomably large opening in the desert, just as he remembered it. He recorded the coordinates, and asked Soundwave to open a ground bridge there. The masked mech hesitated a moment, curious as to why his leader was in such a rush. He pushed it aside however, and opened the bridge to the given coordinates, Megatron not wasting time plunging himself through the swirling vortex.

. . . . .

He appeared in an area of great familiarity, a rocky desert region, with dead trees scattered around, as if he was back in his vision all over again.

"_**Come closer…**_"

Megatron turned around, looking for where the voice had come from, the faint whisper that seemed so deafening.

"Whoever you are, show yourself! Hiding is unbecoming of a being with such powers as your own."

And before his very optics, the ground began to crack and sway, boulders rising up from the ground and forming into a large being, twice the size of Megatron, veins of glowing light energon running up and down their body, spikes and horns growing from the rocky construct.

"Please, there is no need for such aggressive introductions," they said in an ancient voice, one filled with calm and wisdom.

"Who are you? I can feel from being in your presence, that you are the one who is behind what ailment has befallen one of my Decepticons."

"Who I am is a long story, perhaps it would be best to show you," they said, a hand outstretched towards Megatron. Cautiously, he stepped forwards, and the moment he took hold of the being's hand, he felt himself falling through time, optics transfixed on the events unfolding before him.

_He watched reality come into existence, feeling the scorching heat of the birth of the universe. He saw innumerable galaxies stretched out before him, disappearing into the horizon, and all the time was side-by-side with another being of immense power, one he recognized from tales and murals of the ancients, to be Primus. He kept going, watching these two ancient ones traverse the universe, and eventually come to a planet he knew all too well._

_On the surface of Cybertron, it was unclear who struck the first blow, whether it was the natural instincts of creation and destruction to come out on top, or something far more sinister, but the two brothers were locked in combat for countless millions, and eventually billions of years, the surface of the planet being melted down and molded time and time again, made shiny and clean just to be broken down to dust and scrap eons later, the twin moons of Cybertron slowly forming from the debris._

_Megatron then beared witness to the light of Primus himself, as he brought forth into the world, The Thirteen. It was then when the stalemate was broken, the chaos bringer beaten into submission, cast out from Cybertron. Most of the Primes glared at him in disgust and good riddance as his defeated remains drifted off into the depths of space, but some, even Primus himself, hung their heads low, a wave of unhidden guilt filling their EM fields. _

_Drifting in and out of consciousness, he bore witness to his immobile state, feeling the debris of the universe gathering upon his alternate mode as he orbited a small yellow star…_

Megatron managed to pull himself from the vision, dropping on one knee to catch his breath from the unexpectedly exhausting experience.

"You… are the chaos bringer," he said through laboured vents. "You are Unicron." He looked up to see him, but the imposing figure was not gone, only reduced. On the ground, the dust settled around an elderly human male, in a simple white shirt, oddly bright red waistcoat, and black dress pants, skin the same color as the sandy red rock his previous avatar was made from.

"I hope you do not mind the more imposing form I took on, I was not sure about you before, but now I know, Megatron."

"You looked inside my head as well, didn't you?" Megatron asked indignantly.

"How very observant, yes I have. However, I did not delve deep, it would ruin getting to know you in person," Unicron said. "It might be too much of an ask, but would you mind if I accompanied you back to your ship for further discussions? As you can see, I do not receive many visitors, and lack the proper accommodations."

"Very well then, but should you try anything-"

"You'll do what, exactly? As much as I would like to see you try and fight a planet, I'd rather you didn't destroy the life that calls my dormant shell home," The ancient one said jokingly.

Megatron knew he should be afraid, given that this was the very mech of legends that caused Primus to be too weak to exist outside of The Well, but he couldn't help but give a small chuckle at the god of destruction's comment.

Signalling for a groundbridge, he knelt down and picked up Unicron, and the two returned to Trypticon.

. . . . .

Having to explain to the bridge crew why he needed an emergency ground bridge to the middle of nowhere, only to come back mere minutes later was one thing. Having to explain to the three members of his medical staff why the frag he ran off like that was another. But having to explain the strange human with glowing white eyes and powerful EM field? Megatron was just glad he didn't have a headache from this mess.

"Backup backup backup," Skywarp quickly butted in, barging past Hook and Knockout. "So you're telling me, the stuff that's been slowly mutating me and practically brought me back to life, is the lifeblood of, and stop me if I'm wrong here, the life blood of FRAGGING _UNICRON?_" he said with an exasperated scream.

"I am sorry about those dreams, I tried to make them more substantial than the cryptic nonsense they turned out to be," Unicron said from where he had been on the human's platform. "And for what it's worth, I didnt realise my lifeblood could cause such drastic mutations."

"So… are you God?" a meek voice spoke up. Turning around, Unicron saw the three human children that he assumed had been sitting there the whole time, soaking in the situation. He could tell that the question came from the youngest of the trio, eyes wide in wonder behind their glasses.

"If by that you mean the creator of this planet, and the life upon it, then yes. However, since the dawn of the universe, there have been many great beings like myself and my brother who could be considered as gods of sorts."

"Ok, but how did you create organic life? You're all, well, robots. I'd think you wouldn't be able do that." Jack asked.

"I suppose the idea spanned from my delirious state after my final battle with the Primes. In truth, I was on some level envious of my brother, and his ability to forge life in his image from the fabric of Cybertron. So, during one of my brief moments of consciousness, I scanned my new planetary shell, and found the necessary components I thought would work. I released my lifeblood, light energon as you know it, into the Earth, and left it to take its course as I slipped back into my seemingly endless sleep."

"Well, it clearly wasn't that endless," Knockout quipped.

"A few disturbances caused me to stir, yes. Firstly was when I was struck by a large object, and part of me was torn off and became the Earth's moon. The most recent one however, wasn't all too long ago, maybe a few hundred thousand years. I sensed a similar presence to that of the Primes and Primus, but significantly less powerful, but now I know it to be modern Cybertronians, as you all give off the same feeling. And with both of you connected to my light energon," he said, gesturing at Megatron and Skywarp, "I was once again anchored to the real world, and able to finally awaken, as it were."

"That's what you meant, isn't it?" Skywarp said, having finally calmed down. "Not to wake up from my dreams, but to help _you_ instead."

"Precisely, and now I have fully regained my senses, I feel another great power near to here, that of Primus himself." Unicron said, eyes staring off into nothing.

"Well, I suppose that makes some sense, considering both sons of the current Prime are nearby, but I don't see how they could have Primus' signature, unless they have also wielded the Matrix." Hook said.

"No, not a bearer of any trinket that holds a mere sliver of my brother's power, I mean that he is here, but I am unsure as to what brings him here, or how."

"Observation;" Soundwave spoke from where he had stood in silence, "another ship of Cybertronian origin lies on the moon. If you are not feeling Primus here, then he is up there."

"Oh, real great, our god and creator has sided with the enemy."

"Calm yourself, Skywarp. We have no confirmation of that. However, should that eventually come to be true-"

"It wont, Megatron." Unicron spoke up with a power not yet heard from him. "If my brother cannot save his creations from starting a war that sends them spiraling towards extinction, then he has fallen farther than I could have imagined."

"Then what will you do?" Megatron asked.

"I will find him, and prevent him from doing to this world what he allowed to happen on Cybertron, but promise me this; You will continue fighting against these Autobots and their Prime until they are no longer a threat," the ancient figure said as their form began to shift again, returning to the rocks and dust it was made from, disappearing into nothingness.

* * *

Rung jolted up from his desk as if a gun had been fired right through his spark chamber, a wave of odd emotions and memories overcoming him, brought on by a simple message over an old and forgotten bond.

_**Hello, brother. I would like a word with you.**_

His mind was sent reeling as the memories of billions of years long past came flooding back to him, as he dropped to the floor as he couldn't muster the strength to stand.

He wasn't sure how long he had passed out for, but he did know this much; Rung was gone. In a sense, he never really was Rung.

There was only Primus.

* * *

**A/N: And here we are, at the penultimate chapter of Season 1 of the story Next chapter wont take a month to get out, I promise. :^]**


	22. Chapter 21: Primus and Unicron

It had been easy enough to fool the guards. Then again, Primus supposed he could have done it just fine beforehand, given how incompetent some of these Autobots were. Most of them, really.

'_How in the world did these fools even manage to even conquer Cybertron?'_ he thought to himself, as he sauntered through the hangar bay of the _Lost Light_, in search of a shuttle that was already prepped and ready to go. Not being too picky, he came across a particularly gauddy one, built with similar designs and color palette of a certain captain of this dysfunctional ship.

Realising that he hadn't the faintest idea on how to fly the ship, he tapped into the Well, scanning the collective knowledge of all his children who had joined him who had been pilots in life. Snapping back into reality, he went through each initial check needed, and took off from the Autobot warship, making a beeline for the planet below, following the lingering trace of Unicron's call.

* * *

Now needing only to wait for his brother's inevitable arrival, Unicron resigned himself to be amongst his creations. Picking up a newspaper, he strolled into the park he had chosen to meet Primus in, and found a suitable bench to rest at, one under a shady tree. He wasn't quite sure what the name of this city was, but he supposed it didn't matter much, as he knew they would not be spending much time here anyways. He observed his surroundings for a little while, now fully taking in what the populace of his being had created.

To try and pass the time, he turned to the newspaper he had picked up, and quickly realised that he had yet to learn the written languages of his own world. Using his bond with Megatron, he quickly scanned over his processor and learned the particular language this was written in, hoping the Decepticon leader didn't feel as though he had been intruded upon.

Unicron still wasn't quite sure what to make of these "Transformers" quite yet. After Primus' lashing out, how could his creations be so…

"Different from me?" a familiar voice asked, startling Unicron. He hadn't expected Primus to get here so soon, let alone for him to mask his own EM signature, making him undetectable.

"Yes. However, your creations certainly share your passion and fire." Unicron said, as his brother sat next to him. Primus' human avatar wasn't too dissimilar from his own, seemingly the same age, height, and size. The only major difference being that Primus just looked so _tired._

"Well? You wanted to talk, so what's this about?" Primus asked.

"Your intentions. What are they with this planet? Or these Autobots I have heard about, and how your new Prime leads them in conquering the galaxy?"

Primus could only bow his head in guilt, his brother's words striking home.

"I never intended to be partial in the conflicts of my creations, I just seem to have ended up on the Autobots' side in all of it, and have seen to it that I am no longer affiliated with them. And as for the new Prime you speak of, Optimus Prime… that troubles me deeply. I have not been one with the Well or the Matrix in countless ages."

"What? But I was told that it is your will who becomes Prime via the relic Solus produced."

"Exactly, that is why I am unsure as to _how_ a new Prime has arisen. Unless…"

"Unless what, brother?" Unicron asked, seeing the rare panic in Primus' eyes.

"I fear that in my absence, in my attempt to understand the people from their perspective, I have neglected my duty to protect them, and have allowed a greater evil to rise..." Primus said, abruptly standing to leave.

"It's been so long, brother. Surely this isn't how we should part."

"I know, but some things cannot be put off any longer."

"Where will you go then?"

"The one place I'm needed the most. And, for whatever it's worth," Primus said, turning back one last time. "I am sorry. For everything."

Unicron watched as Primus walked away, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

* * *

"I… I can't. I _won't_ do it." Optimus pleaded, something he found himself doing too much as of late.

"_And why not, my child? Surely you wish for Cybertron and it's people to be safe?"_

"But they are _civilians!_ I don't care if they are Decepticon sympathisers, I will not slaughter innocents any longer." he cried out into the blank void he always found himself in when meditating within the Matrix.

"_But they are __**NOT**_ _innocents. They disobey you, and in turn, disobey the will of Primus. I am sure the priests at the Primal Basilica would agree."_

Optimus could only cower at the rage he was being faced with, on his hands and knees, praying that he would not feel the rage of Primus again. Once was enough a lesson for a hundred lifetimes. But the scolding did not come, and he felt an ethereal hand on his shoulder.

"_Forgive me, my Prime. I lost my temper. I should know better than to scare you so."_

There was no warmth in his god's words, only the painful, yet miraculously soothing cold he had always known and dealt with. Sometimes other voices came to him, ones he could only assume to be the Primes of the past, but they were always too weak to be heard.

Suddenly, as if he was at the centre of a supernova, the Matrix felt as though it had been set ablaze. The cold hands of who he thought to be Primus were ripped from him, a loving warmth standing between him and the one who had guided him throughout his tenure as Prime.

"_**YOU!"**_

"_No… NO! It cannot be, you were gone from the Matrix… too weak to show yourself!"_

"_**Leaving the Matrix was my greatest mistake. But puppeteering it, masquerading as ME? That shall be your last!"**_

An even greater surge of power burst forth from this new presence, the _real_ Primus, his EM field full of warmth, yet also sadness.

"_**I hereby banish you from the Matrix of Leadership, and the Well of Allsparks. Your treachery is unbecoming of a Prime." **_

"_No… NOOOOO!"_ the old voice cried out, as they dissipated, only a patch of cold left where they once existed, quickly dissipating as well.

Optimus could only imagine how pathetic he must look, still cowering on the ground in front of Primus, even though deep down he felt that the danger had gone.

"_**You need not bow to me, my child,"**_ Primus said, pulling Optimus into an embrace.

. . . . .

Optimus onlined his optics, gazing out onto the Iacon skyline from the balcony of his chambers in the Primal Palace, his usual spot for meditation. He noticed that the Matrix still hummed quietly in his chest, it's soft blue glow shimmering off his rich purple and blue frame.

Shakilly standing up, he forced himself to walk back inside to his berth, not daring to give into his fatigue and crawl, in the event someone out to get him was watching.

Falling onto the large berth, he pulled the thermo-blanket over him, an eerie sense of dread still enveloping him, as he tried to fall into recharge.

But one question still haunted his mind.

If it wasn't Primus who had been encouraging him to wreak so much havoc and commit such atrocities, then who had?

He was too tired to notice as the cold ran their hands over him once more.

* * *

End of Season 1


	23. Chapter 22: Meetings in the Dark

Season 2

* * *

**Planet Chaar**

**Decepticon Capital World**

…

Located well enough away from Cybertron to be considered safe, the ancient mining and manufacturing world of Chaar had been laid claim to by the Decepticons during the early years of the war, helping to supply munitions and made-to-order soldiers, and later Vehicons, to the continuously crumbling Cybertron, where few places remained that could produce such vital resources.

At the heart of the main city, a great fortress had been constructed. In fact, it had been under nearly continuous construction for the entire war, building up whenever the Autobots developed newer and more powerful invasion ships.

And in the command centre of this colossal structure, Strika had been patiently waiting for the call to come in. She had sent away the crew working here beforehand, as this transmission was for Decepticon high command only.

"What could be taking him so long? Do you think he's alright?" A red-masked mech asked nervously from a view screen, one of many that had various high-ranking Decepticons patched into the secure comm line.

"Steady yourself, Tarn. I am sure that Megatron wouldn't risk asking for this gathering if it wasn't important. He took a big enough chance when he sent out that first message, and if the Autobots couldn't trace him by that, our leader should still be fine." Strika replied, doing her best to calm the DJD commander.

"Please understand Damus, it would make logical sense that Megatron is taking his time making contact with us. He does not have the luxury of great distance between himself and the Autobots, unlike ourselves." Shockwave responded, although he was clearly busy with something else off-screen.

Soon, a new figure appeared on one of the already open view screens. The large, beastial Deathsaurus returned to view. "Apologies again. I had to take care of some business on the bridge. I hope I haven't missed Megatron?"

"No." Shockwave said, a hint of exasperation slipping through his usual monotone voice.

A few minutes more passed in silence, before a notification popped up of an incoming transmission. After a few seconds of processing, the screen flickered to life, the Decepticon leader sat at his desk.

"Greetings, Megatron. It is very good to see you again," Strika said with a slight bow.

"You as well, Strika. And as I'm sure you're wondering, your scouting party did make it to Earth. However, I regret to inform both you and Shockwave," said scientist finally snapping to attention, "that Acid Storm did not survive."

Strika couldn't help but slam her fist in a fit of rage, "It was that Arcee, wasn't it?"

"Indeed it was. He sacrificed himself protecting Airachnid and Jackson, one of our human companions, from Arcee's wrath." Megatron responded.

Megatron didn't need to wonder what was going through Shockwave's faceless mind, his body language made it apparent, and he was certain that anyone nearby would be able to feel the grief rolling off his EM field. He had been present for it once before, the sheer force of his raw emotions making him feel as though he was grieving as well. He watched as Shockwave turned away from his monitor once more, throwing himself into some project.

"It has been far too long, and we have much to discuss. Strika, report first. How fares you're end of the war?"

"All according to plan, sir. Chaar's many factories and shipyards keep the Decepticons well armed, and any attempts by the Autobots to breach the solar system have failed. I don't mean to sound overly optimistic, but I have received some estimates that, should there be no major setbacks, we might be able to produce enough warships and MTO's to begin an effective counter attack on the Autobots."

"That is, to say the least, surprising news. However, I shall take it with a grain of salt."

"Grain of salt, sir?"

"Earth expression, the local dialect seems to have affected most of us by now. However, in regards to the production of new ships..." Megatron said, typing something into his console, and appearing on screen to the rest of the gathered Decepticons was a design unfamiliar to them. "This is a quantum warp drive, similar to what gives Skywarp his special abilities. We obtained these plans from a raid on the Autobots, and believe this will help us greatly."

"Thank you, Megatron. Our scientists will have their work cut out for them, but we shall get these designs brought to life."

"You are most welcome," he replied. "Shockwave, how are our efforts going with the Velocitronians?"

"They are going nominally, lord Megatron," Shockwave said, finally turning back to the screen, speaking a more somber tone. "Some members of the local populace have been a great asset in the fortifications of the planet and its moon, and we have yet to come under any attacks from the Autobots. The planet's leader, Override, has even undergone proper initiation into the Decepticon faction. However, the population overall still stands divided on the war. She also has a message for you to pass on to someone."

"Really? What might that be?"

"She would like you to inform Knockout that he 'owes her one'."

"I see, I'll make sure that gets passed along then. Thank you, old friend." Megatron said. "Is everything alright, _Deszaras_? You seem distressed."

Deathsaurus was thrown off for a moment at his leader using his traditional name, hesitating before responding. "Distressed doesn't even begin to cover it, I'm afraid." He said with his head hung low. "Our fleet has been under constant threat from the Autobots, they have been chasing us across the galaxy ever since we left Cybertron. Star Saber and his fleet have dealt severe damage to us, and the gap between us shortens every day, and we have not been able to stay put for long enough to make repairs.

"However, given these new blueprints, we might have a better chance of survival should we find the time to instal them ourselves."

"I truly am sorry to hear that, but I am glad to know you are hanging in there." Megatron said solemnly. He had figured it wouldn't be all good news this meeting anyhow. "You seem tired, Deathsaurus. Go get some rest."

"I think I will, it's been long since I got any downtime. It was good to hear from you again, sir." Deathsaururs said, as they dropped their end of the call.

"You as well, Shockwave-"

"He already left the call," Strika said. "As soon as he started to cry, he dropped his end of the comm."

"Cry? As in, proper tear ducts? Has he actually gone ahead with that scheme of his to revert his impurata?"

"It worked well enough for Tarn, he supposed it could work for him. However, he thought it best to operate on himself, the mad mech."

Megatron heard a faint clunk, turning his attention to the last member he had yet to address, and saw that Tarn had taken off his mask, the young mech's face scarred from years of warfare.

"Are you alright, Damus?"

"Yes, Megatron. As fine as one can be right now, anyways."

"That's all I needed to hear. But, do tell, how goes the endeavors of the D.J.D?"

"Our relief efforts on Cybertron and surrounding planets have been going slowly as of late. It seems that the Autobots have finally strengthened their defensives, and are further cracking down on Decepticon cells still on Cybertron, so getting intel and supplies to and from them has been tricky to say the least. We haven't been able to contact Tankor and his resistance fighters in months now, but last we spoke he said that they had managed to finally sneak off the Hydrax Plateau."

"It is most unfortunate that we have lost contact with such brave warriors, but it is reassuring to know they are still holding their own. Then again, nothing short of death could ever stand in Tankor's way." Megatron said with a smirk.

"And what about yourself, how are things on 'Earth' going?" Strika asked.

"We are doing fine, at least for the time being. The local government has allowed us to operate here, so long as we remain a secret to the rest of humanity. The Autobots have been extremely persistent here, though. Prowl and Rodimus have not made it easy for us, that's for certain."

"So Optimus has sent his best after you, huh? You must feel honored." Tarn jested.

"Hm, given how our last confrontation ended, I was surprised he didn't come to fix his broken pride himself." Megatron said with a chuckle. "I'm sure you have other business to attend to, Damus, so I shall let you get back to work. I have some things to discuss further with Strika."

"Of course, Megatron. It was good to see you all again, and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours." Tarn said, before signing off.

"So, what's this about?" Strika asked. "I'd assume anything you can tell me in private, it can't be anything good."

"Oh, on the contrary. This is about your sparkmate and his trinemates."

Strika went slack, her optics going wide. "Lugnut… you found a way to fix him and the others?"

"Yes, but you wont like it. I doubt you would even believe it, truly. Even I sometimes question it."

"Try me," she goaded.

"What would you think if I said that Unicron was involved."

"...you're bluffing. Unicron hasn't been seen since Cybertron's early days, in the Age of Forging."

"And yet, it would seem that by some cosmic coincidence, that the planet Shockwave had been testing his experiments for millenia, the one we find ourselves stranded on now, just so happens to be where the great chaos bringer lies."

"I… honestly don't know what to say. I'll take you at your word that Unicron lives, but how could a being of chaos help bring back our fallen friends?"

"By using this," Megatron said, as he held up a white glowing cube. "This is light energon, the lifeblood of Unicron. And to make a long story short, it brought Skywarp back from something that, by all accounts, should have killed him."

"Something like this sounds too good to be true. Side effects?"

"Enhancement of basic and outlier capabilities, the occasional lucid dream that feels like something sustained via hallucinogens, and a lingering connection of sorts to Unicron, but nothing we have seen indicates any explicit harm comes to those infused with it." Megatron said in a reassuring tone. "I wanted your go ahead on this one, Strika. The medical staff wont outright say it, but Lugnut, Blitzwing, and Slipstream wont last long if we just keep them in a medi-tank indefinitely."

"I appreciate you asking, but do know that being halfway across the galaxy means you are much better suited for this kind of decision making." Strika said. "So yes, do whatever you can to bring him- all of them back."

"Very well then, I shall have the medics start preparing in the morning. Just know, we will do our best to make it work." Megatron said with a relieved smile.

"Thank you, sir. Best of luck to you."

"You as well, Strika. Megatron, out."


	24. Chapter 23: Old Friends Come Home

**A/N: Boy oh boy, plague time sure is stressful, isn't it? Here's a semi-feelgood chapter that took too long to write.**

* * *

The next day came, and after his usual morning routines, Megatron made his way down to the medical bay. What surprised him, however, was the distinct lack of medical staff, the only people there being Sammy and Gary, who was sat on one of the medical berths, dents and burn marks across his lower half.

"What happened here then?" Megatron asked.

"Accident during training. Flyboy here tried doing a bunch of tricks in the canyons, and one of his thrusters burnt out. Luckily, I was around to carry his sorry aft back here," Sammy said, throwing a side glance to her fellow Vehicon.

"Yes, and again, thanks. But we've been here for not too long, and Hook _was_ here, but went off to get something to help repair me, and never came back. Won't answer his comms, either," Gary said.

"Hmm, I think I might know where the doctor slipped off to," Megatron said as he walked over to the very back of the medbay, and pressed the panel that opens up the now not-so-secret backroom. The lights flickered on as he entered, and he saw at the desk in the far corner Hook, with his face planted on a stack of datapads, fast asleep. Stepping over, Megatron gently jostled him awake.

"Huh, what?" Hook said groggily, rubbing his helm.

"I understand you are under a lot of stress, but please, do get some real rest so you don't fall asleep on the job."

"Oh, right. I was getting…" Hook reached across his desk, and grabbed the handheld scanner that he had misplaced. "This, for Gary's repairs. Unless you need it for anything?" he asked jokingly.

"No, go ahead, I shall wait here until you are done." Megatron said. As Hook went back to work, Megatron stepped towards the three medical-tanks, and input the code to defog the glass. It was funny, really, how the only thing that just might save them could only be found on the planet they had just so happened to be using all this time.

After some time, Hook returned to the back room, and took a hint from how Megatron was acting.

"You want me to prep them for their wakeup call?"

"Ideally, yes. However, only you know how much light energon we have. Do you think it will be enough for all three?"

"Well, lets see." Hook said, pulling up something on his datapad. "Slipstream should be fine with a similar amount to Skywarp, given they are roughly the same size and physiology. For Blitzwing, I think doubling the amount should work just fine. And Lugnut, well, pumping that massive mech full of the stuff should do the trick. So yes, we should be good on our reserves."

"Excellent. Then I shall get out of your circuits and let you get to work." Megatron said, as he left to occupy himself for the time being.

. . . . .

Given that there were about to be three thought to be dead Decepticons at Trypticon Base, Megatron went ahead and sent out a memo about them, and how they came to be onboard. Of course, he wasn't expecting them to integrate instantly, but he hoped that sooner rather than later they would get used to the much more restrictive guidelines they operated under whilst on Earth.

The three still-comatose bodies had been laid out on berths in the main medbay, all hooked up to energon drips infused with whatever amounts Hook had determined to be needed.

"How long do you estimate it will be until they wake up?" Megatron asked.

"Just like with Skywarp's case, it's hard to say. Could be minutes, hours, maybe even days. As good a job Knockout did patching them up, we just aren't sure if any of it will work."

"Even if only one of them wakes up, it still would have been worth the effort," Starscream said from where he stood over Slipstream, closely examining his cousin for any signs of activity.

"Well geez, thanks for your resounding confidence in my work, _herr kommandant_," Knockout jested, as he began to do basic checks on their patients.

. . . . .

"...my work, _herr kommandant_..."

[Language; unfounded. Searching…]

. . . . .

Joints creaking and cracking, Blitzwing bolted upright from his berth. "Was zee Frag ist los?"

"Oh scrap," Knockout said, facepalming.

"What did you do to him?" Starsrceam asked frantically.

"Hallo? Can you nicht verstehen?" The dark gray and red mech continued.

"During bootup, he must have picked up on what I was saying, and he must have sought it out." Knockout continued.

"Well fix him!"

"Warte eine minute, were sind we?"

"Uh," Knockout quickly scanned through his subspace, before finding what he was after. "Aha! Here, just take this." He said, tossing a data slug to Blitzwing, who promptly caught it.

"Well, at least his reflexis are still sharp." Hook commented.

"Ugh, would you shut up?"

The group turned to see as Slipstream sat up, rubbing her helm. "Your shouting is enough to wake the dead _and _give them a helmache."

"Oh, Slipstream, I'm so happy you're still alive!" Starsrceam said, pulling her into a hug.

"Yeah, good to see you again too, 'Screamer."

"That do you any good, Blitz?" Knockout said, taking back the drive.

"Ja, zank you freund. Ach schrap, my voice." Blitzwing said, grabbing at his neck.

"Thankfully, we can understand you. You are back with us now, and that's what truly matters." Megatron said, helping Blitzwing to his pedes.

"Az much az I appreziate you for ze rescue, how did you even manage to find uns?"

"LORD MEGATRON!" Lugnut proclaimed, the dark blue and green bomber pouncing on his leader, picking them up into a very too-tight hug. "OH, WONDEROUS DAYS! YOU RECEIVED MY MESSAGE!"

"Yes, that's how we found you all," Megatron said through gritted denta. "Now please, could you set me down, Lugnut?"

Lugnut promptly released him, and managed to stabilize himself as his pedes thudded against the floor.

"Hook, Knockout. How are our patients looking?" Megatron asked.

"Well, their vital signs are stable. But considering our baseline is you and Skywarp, take that analysis as you will." Hook said, as he started putting away all the scanners and equipment into the back room. "Seeing as they are good enough to walk, I'll let them off the hook for further testing until later. But any signs of strange happenings, you bring them right back here."

"Understood, doctor." Megatron said, as he guided the trio out of the medbay. "Lugnut, Blitzwing, Slipstream, allow me to officially welcome you to Trypticon Base."

. . . . .

"And just have you and your brothers been, Starscream?" Slipstream asked, as she was practically dragged along by her cousin.

"We have been quite well, especially as of late, given that Skywarp had some strange medical conditions. Although, they seem to have cleared up for the most part."

"Really? No offence to you and T-C, but he always seemed to keep himself the healthiest out of you three. How bad was it?"

"Nearly dying causes many strange effects to happen, especially when one is treated with the blood of Unicron."

"I still don't buy that explanation. I never was one for the whole 'ancient gods of peace and destruction' sort of deal."

"Yet you bonded with the high priest of Vos' temple," Starscream jabbed with a sly grin.

"Hey, don't you bring Sunstorm into this!" Slipstream said, giving him a playful shove.

"But, while we're on the subject, have you heard from a certain shuttle-former recently?" Slipstream said teasingly.

Starscream chuckled at his cousin's remark, but his face remained almost somber. "No, Skyfire and I haven't made contact for quite some time now. Not since I contacted him to inform him of the ceasefire, but given how things turned out, I hate to say I was glad he didn't get planet-side before then."

"So you can't just, ya know, reach through your spark bond to feel him?"

"We weren't _technically_ conjunx yet, you know that." Starscream said. Pulling himself out of memories long past, he stopped, realising that he was going the wrong way.

"Hehe, sorry about that. I suppose I let my mind wander a little too far."

"Where are you taking me to, anyways?" Slipstream asked.

"First I'll have to stop by my room, as I have to grab a datapad to finish off some reports. And then we'll find you suitable living quarters, I'm sure we have spare rooms close by."

After reaching the crew quarters section of the ship, Starscream quickly ducked inside his room, returning with a handful of datapads he began to subspace away. Continuing on down the corridor, they reached an area with plenty of empty living quarters.

"This place sure has a lot of empty space on board. Then again, it is a Titan. I thought you were planning on a mass evacuation?" Slipstream asked, as she poked her head in to inspect the various rooms.

"That was the plan, yes. But much of our forces managed to find other ways off of Cybertron before we took off, so only about three fourths of the space has been taken up." Starscream replied.

"Welp, if there's no objections, I think I'll take one of these rooms for myself. I love my trinemates to death, you know how it is. But sharing one of these rooms with them? Lugnut would take up most of the room alone, and Blitz is claustrophobic anyways, and would just get all jittery and cross-wired being cramped in here."

"I see no reason why not, given how the rate of new arrivals hasn't hindered our available space."

"Thanks, 'Scream. I'll comm the others and let them know."

. . . . .

Once Lugnut and Blitzwing arrived, after having started to try and learn the layout of the ship, they each did what they could to settle into their respective rooms. Slipstream still had some old literature data-pads in her subspace, placing them onto the room's small shelf. Or at least tried to, as Skywarp phasing through her door scared her out of settling in. Blitzwing set up the wall mount for his sword, although he chose to keep it on his person. And Lugnut seemed to hold a small encampment's worth of supplies in his subspace, pulling out thermal blankets for himself and his other two companions. For his own quarters, he hung out a large tattered white banner with the Decepticon emblem in the centre, underlined by Cybertronian text saying "Rise Up", one of the originals from the early Decepticon rallies whener Megatron had time off from fights in the arena, and placed a framed portrait of himself and Strika on the small nightstand.

. . . . .

A short while later, Megatron called the trio onto the bridge, where they were promptly met with the Decepticons' humans companions, and the usual spiel by agent Fowler about how they would have to be robots in disguise so long as they operated on Earth.

"Ooh, I think I found my new alt," Slipstream said after combing through the list that Soundwave had provided. "How about you two?"

"Ja, I zink these two shall be suffizent enough," Blitzwing responded.

"Thankfully, I found one just my size," was all Lugnut said on the matter.

"Then I suggest you head up to the flight-deck for a test flight, and drive in your case Blitzwing. An old friend of yours should be waiting for you." Megatron said, and the three gave each other an odd look, unknowing of who it could possibly be.

Working their way through the hangar bay, maneuvering in and out of Vehicons working on the few shuttlecraft housed there, they reached the flightdeck, and were met with…

"Kommandant?" Blitzwing said, and they all stood at attention, as their ever familiar dark magenta and silver commander turned to face them.

"Well, it seems that the Oddball Trine pulled through after all." Skyquake said, giving them a bow. "At ease you three, I hear you've all been through quite the ordeal."

"You could say that," Slipstream said. "I just can't believe you're here. Any other members of Squadron-X here that we didn't know about?"

"No, not here. I have it on good authority that Dreadwing and Bludgeon are well, but as for the others, I do not know of their whereabouts.

"However, we will have plenty of time to catch up whilst I show you around. C'mon now!" Skyquake shouted back to them, as he took a running start before transforming and taking off. Close behind, the Oddball Trine did the same, Slipstream transforming first into a sleek Su-47 fighter jet. Lugnut just behind, turning into a hulking B-17 bombercraft, slow going at first, but picking up with that rapid speed nobody usually believes a bot of his size could pull off.. Blitzwing jumped up, and hit the ground in his Kaplan MT tank, but modified to account for his double cannons, revving halfway down the flightdeck before boosting up into the air, flipping to his F-4 Phantom mode, and jetting off with his comrades into the desert skies over Nevada.

* * *

**A/N: WASH YA' FUCKING HANDS, DANGUS.**


	25. Chapter 24: Tripple Threat, Part 1

**A/N: O O F, so this chapter was a slog to write, and was taking wayyyy too long, so I've decided to split it in two so that you guys have an update sooner rather than later.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and on with the show...**

* * *

Stalking down the passageway between his palace and Perceptor's laboratory, Optimus Prime couldn't get his head on right for the life of him. Ever since Primus, the _real_ Primus had revealed himself, he had felt nothing but warmth and welcome from the Matrix, unlike the stinging, painful cold he felt when he first bonded with the ancient relic. But now, some way or another, the false Primus, the cold one, had lodged themselves deep within his own mind.

"_But you cannot be rid of me, Optimus Prime. I made you all that you are today."_

"You made me into nothing but a monster!" he screams internally at the voice inside his head, lest he allow his subordinates to think he had gone mad by speaking aloud to himself.

"_But was it not I who filled you with confidence and power, helped you in your darkest hour-"_

"The only darkness there is, is the shadow you keep me under. I'll find a way to get you out of my head, with or without anyone's help-" He lurched forwards, catching his balance just before he fell, hearing the crashing of something on the floor. Coming back to himself, he saw a masked purple jet-former on the ground, and a crate of supplies spilled out.

"F-forgive me, lord Optimus. I must not have been paying attention where I was stepping." they stammered, cowering before the large Prime, quickly gathering up what had fallen.

"No, I am the one who is sorry." Optimus said, and the room went silent as Perceptor and his lab staff stared agape as Optimus Prime, the great conqueror of Cybertron and it's colony worlds, knelt down and _helped someone_.

"Forgive me, I have seen you around, but I do not know your name," Optimus said, handing over some tools.

"Brainstorm, your lordship. Co-Chief engineer of the Lost Light."

"Ah, you so are the clever mech Rodimus tells me about," he said, as he gently grabbed Brainstorm and helped him up. "I must say, I am very impressed with the amount of work you have done in helping not just him, but the Autobots as a whole."

Brainstorm hung their head, not daring to make optic contact. "Of course sir, we're all in this together, as you once said."

"Oh don't be like that Brainstorm," a large mech said, coming over and giving them a friendly pat on the back. "He's a humble one, lord Optimus, but don't let that fool you. He's one of the finest weaponsmiths in your army, too. Made plenty of excellent tools of war for us Wreckers."

"Ah, Springer. I take it that you are ready for your mission?"

"_Yes, the mission to kill that fool Megatron, and finish what we started."_

"Yessir, locked and loaded to lay waste to the 'Cons and those fleshy critters that have taken them in."

"Don't be so hasty for a slaughter. Your mission is to aim for the Decepticons, in secrecy I might add."

"_What are you doing? Have him kill them all! It's the only way to victory, and you know it!"_

"Of course sir, I just don't see a need to keep these 'humans' alive, that's all." Springer said, in a look of confusion.

"There are some who would serve us, as we are already backing native insurgent groups to destabilize their governments, which will make our conquest that much easier."

"And even if they do not succeed, they can be made an example of what happens to those who do not submit to the Autobots," Optimus unwittingly added on, realising he let his grasp on the cold one slip.

"Understood sir, 'necessary' casualties only." Springer said, evident that he would be making liberal use of what was and wasn't necessary, making his way over to the teleportation pod Brainstorm had left through moments ago.

"And Springer," Optimus said, the talented Wrecker turning back to the warlord. "You have served me well over the eons, I will give you a pass should you fail at killing any of the Decepticon high command, so long as maximum possible damage is inflicted upon them."

Springer bowed, and grinned in glee. "Rest assured my lord, maximum damage is the Wrecker specialty."

* * *

On the other side of the teleportation, after clearing his processor of the fogginess inflicted by it, he saw Brainstorm busy sorting the supplies he had carried over, whilst another bot was patching up a distinctly fist-sized hole in the laboratory wall, and Prowl sat in a chair, clearly in a bored state as he was reading a datapad, clearly having been waiting for him to arrive.

"Well gee, seems I got the whole welcoming committee. Truly, I'm honoured." Springer said, sluggishly stepping out of the pod.

"Welcome aboard the Lost Light, Springer." Brainstorm said as he walked over.

"Nice to finally be in the nuthouse I've heard you speak so much about. And just who might this be?" He said, pointing to the femme welding shut the hole in the wall.

"That would be Nautica, fellow engineer here. We are pretty much a package deal."

"Yeah, that's one way of putting it," she yelled over the loud sparking of her welds, only to have Brainstorm reach over and turn off the device in her hands.

"Who's the crazed bot who punched that hole?" Springer asked.

"Magnus," Prowl spoke up. "I was on my way down here to go over protocol with you, and saw his oversized fist go through the wall before he left in a huff."

"Ugh, a damn shame he hasn't done us all a favor and thrown himself off a cliff yet."

"Yes well, I'm sure you want to rejoin the other rowdy thugs you all Wreckers, so follow me," Prowl said, as he led him out of the lab and down the hall to the nearest turbolift. Once they were inside, he leaned close to Prowl. "Any bugs in this thing?" he whispered.

"Only the ones I planted myself. What itel do you have?" Prowl asked, an optic ridge raised. Springer reached into his subspace, and handed over a datapad with the word "CLASSIFIED" as the startup image, and was captivated by every word.

"So, I take it this came-"

"Straight from the Prime himself. I'll be passing the info along to the other Wreckers as well, or at the very least, the ones who I know respect the memory of Impactor enough to carry out this order."

"Heh, I bet even the ones who detested him would have no qualms with taking out Magnus. Thank you, I'll start my preparations as soon as I can."

"Really? I thought you of all mechs would'a been prepared for whenever the kill order came in."

"Yes, but the way lord Optimus has been sending me intel, he wanted Magnus alive long enough to learn something, and he clearly didn't get it."

As the turbolift doors opened, Prowl gave final directions to Swerve's, and went off on his own elsewhere, leaving Springer on his own.

. . . . .

Walking into Swerve's, Springer encountered a sight so unsurprising that it was getting a bit old at this point. A bar fight, with the Wreckers at the centre of it all. More specifically, that lunatic ex-cyber ninja Whirl facing down against slightly less insane Arcee and Rodimus. What he did not expect however, was that Arcee seemed to be acting as a shield over-

Oh no, Whirl had finally taken it too far. Because there, cowering on the floor next to the bar, Bumblebee for his life, and bloodlust in his brother's optics.

He could see Bulkhead and Ironfist trying to hold Whirl back, but he kept edging forwards bit by bit, whilst Rodimus had his flares out, and Arcee had her rifle aimed right at Whirl's head. They were yelling at each other, but he couldn't make out what it was over the noise.

Stepping forward through the crowd, the bots watching in awe didn't even notice the legendary Wrecker among them. Not until he stepped up behind Bulkhead, giving him a tap on the shoulder, and giving the two a nod. By now, the two guarding Bumblebee had noticed what was about to happen.

Taking a page out of that afthat Prowl's book, Springer reached for the nearest table, and a big one no less, and raised it over his head.

Thankfully, Bulkhead and Ironfist managed to get away before the big metal slab came crashing down, flattening the deranged copter-former to the ground.

The bar was dead silent for only a moment, when...

"WHO the FRAG thinks they can get away with-" Whirl shrieked, as they pushed the table off themselves, and threw a wayward punch as they turned to face their assailant.

Their claw was caught, and Springer's other hand was used to grab him by the neck, lifting him up, and in a similar fashion, crashing him down onto the aforementioned table.

"Ohohoho, Springer. Looks like somebody grew a spinal-strut and came back. Or are you not even here for the Wreckers?" he taunted up at the large now-phase-sixer. Springer slammed him down once more, and slung Whirl over his shoulder.

"Oh no, Whirly-bird. You and I are gonna have ourselves a little talk," Springer almost growled at him, as he dragged him out of the bar.

It was another 30 or so minutes later when he came back to the bar, covered in energon and internal fluids, and went up to the bar. Unexpectedly, the gathered bots suddenly cheered for him. He even felt a small mech come up hug him, the least expected thing Springer thought had ever happened to him.

***Thank you so much,*** Bumblebee chirped, as he sat on the stool next to him.

"Eh, it was nothing kid. I know how much of a pain Whirl has been to everyone who meets him, I just havent been around to deal with him."

"And thank you again for doing so," Rodimus said, stepping up to the bar and ordering another drink. "I think that if it had gone any further, I would have burned the whole ship down trying to get him."

"Heh, I believe it, too. So, what did the afthead do to hurt Bee here?"

***I was just chatting with Rodimus, and I saw Whirl and Arcee bump into each other at the bar, and things started to get tense, so I tried de-escalating the situation… that, uh, didn't go so well.*** the young bot buzzed meekly.

"So, did you kill whirl? I'd have asked for you to do so, but he's actually not a bad soldier whenever he isn't being a slightly more insane version of Magnus."

"Nah, just threw him out an airlock and had Prowl lock the exits. Give 'em a few hours, should be long enough for him to cool off a bit." Springer said, taking his drink as Swerve handed it to him. Swiftly stepped his way across the bar, he reached the booth in the far corner near to the door, where he received the loudest reception of all from the gathered Wreckers.

"About time you showed up, big bot," Wheeljack said, scooting over so he could sit down. "And I do mean big. Look at ya'! What happened?" Gesturing to Springer's new body.

"Heh, just some upgrades to better lay out the 'Cons."

"Is this your official rejoining of the Wreckers, Springer?" Ironfist asked.

"Sadly, it ain't. Not yet, anyways, but soon." Springer said. "For now, I'm on a mission from the Prime himself to root out the Decepti-creeps down planetside. You boys wouldn't happen to know of anyone up for it, now would ya?" he said with a deep chuckle, as the other Wreckers got him up to speed with the situation on Earth, and started drawing up plans.

To the credit of his compatriots' devious ideas, Springer almost felt sorry for the Decepticons.

Almost.

* * *

Nobody had been ready for the attack. Not the human soldiers stationed at the remote research base, or the response team that Skyquake led when the report of an Autobot attack came in. Once the team of a few dozen Vehicons drove out of the ground bridge, they were faced with a vast complex on fire, and the Wreckers at the center of it all, basking in the destruction.

Skyquake and the rest of Squadron X were no strangers to the Wreckers' particular fondness for excessive violence, but even he was impressed by the carnage wrought.

The worst of it was; they're company seemed to have been expected.

Hidden explosives detonated one by one, catching the Decepticons off guard, as the Wreckers pushed in for their attack. Row by row, his soldiers fell around him, and Skyquake hadn't even realised until there were less than twenty of them left, that it was just _one mech alone_ doing this to them, the other Wreckers merely watching from close by, encircling them so there was no escape from this total slaughter. Energon and wires spilled out across the ground, and splattered onto the already desecrated corpses.

A fusion shot went through the spark of one soldier, and nearly took him offline as well as the round buried itself into his chest, as he dropped to his knees. From the smoke and ash, the lone attacker stepped forth, a sick smug look on their face near instantly recognizable.

Springer lifted him by the neck cables, crushing them for no other purpose than to further his own sadistic pleasure. "As much as I want you dead, 'Quakey boy, I need you alive, to deliver a message." He said, as he punched him right where the blast had already hit him."Tell Megatron that our next attack will be in about a month's time, as preparation for his _execution_," he snarled, clearly enjoying being able to say the words aloud. "Let him know that he better come alone, or else." He didn't catch what happened after he was dropped to the ground before he passed out, only the continued cry of humans being slaughtered.

. . . . .

Wreckers. The last resort of the Autobots' already incredibly brutal military, they stood as the pinnacle of "if this isn't a war criminal, I don't know who is." Before, they weren't as much of a threat, reduced to nothing more than Ultra Magnus' goons after Impactor's death during the battle of Garus-9.

But now Springer was back, long since thought taken out to the extent he could never fight again.

What's worse was, from the report that came from a disoriented and badly injured Skyquake was how Springer's strength and speed was comparable to that of their own Phase-Sixers.

Megatron was beyond scared at the thought.

"And again sir, like you yourself have said time and time again, we have stretched our limits with protecting Earth from the Autobots. We did what we could with what we had." Skyquake said, trying to reassure his leader during their hastily arranged command meeting.

Starscream sighed, sliding back in his seat. "What I wouldn't give to have Overlord back here right now," he mumbled into his hands.

"Overlord's location; Unknown." Soundwave droned. "Last known location; Chaar, resupplying for an unknown mission."

"If this really is a full-blown Phase-Sixer, what chance do we have?" Airachnid said, her unusually pessimistic view on the matter sobering a few in the room to the bigger threat this imposed. "If it took the Autobots what was nearly the total annihilation of a planet just to kill Black Shadow, what chance do _we_ possibly have?"

"Maybe we could press Full-Tilt to increase his efforts in fully reactivating Trypticon, surely that would be enough firepower to take Springer down." Skywarp mused, from where he had been hovering in the corner, not giving any indication of listening to the rest of them up until now.

"What? And expose ourselves to the rest of humanity?" Starscream retorted, "We have been lucky enough to get this far without the secret getting out."

"It will be out if the Wreckers keep this up. Sooner or later, people will start wondering what's really going on!" Steve interjected. "If we just do it ourselves, at least the backlash won't be as bad."

"Enough!" Megatron shouted over the room, tension lingering in the brief moment of silence. "Springer clearly is after me, so I will go alone just as they asked."

Starscream looked about ready to blow a gasket. "But sir-"

"And whilst I'm busy distracting him, you'd better have a good enough plan to take him out. For whatever that may be, I leave it to you to figure it out. Dismissed." The gathered Decepticons slowly got up and left the room, leaving Megatron sat at the head of the table, head resting on his fists, doing all he could to keep up the facade of the leader they all needed right now.

* * *

**A/N: Hmm yes, war crimes. What would a Transformers story be without them?**


End file.
